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battleship "Strasbourg" at Toulon

French Forces

battleship "Strasbourg" at Toulon

http://waralbum.ru/68284/

American soldier on the deck of the destroyed French battleship Strasbourg in Toulon,august 1944. Near the battleship on its side is the light cruiser La Gallissoniere. Battleship "Strasbourg" entered service on April 6, 1939. In October 1939 the ship was part of the "Connections X» with the British fleet and took part in the hunt for the German "pocket" battleship "Admiral Graf Spee". Then, until the fall of France, it accompanied the French convoys. After the fall of France during "Operation Catapult"the ship was damaged and broke out of Mers-el-Kebir making for Toulon. On the morning of December 27, 1942, "Strasbourg" was scuttled and sank near the quay wall at Toulon, to avoid capture by German forces. Later,on 17 July 1943 it was raised by the Italians, who removed the catapult , added armor and stripped one of the main gun batteries. On August 18, 1944 before the Allied landings at Toulon ,36 American B-25 aircraft dropped 156 250 kilo general-purpose bombs on the Strasbourg and the La Gallissoniere. The "Strasbourg" was hit by seven bombs and sank to the harbor bottom.. In 1946, the ship was raised, but because of the great destruction was not restored.It was used for experiments with underwater explosions, and on May 27, 1955, its remains were sold for scrap.

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2/12/2013

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