The De Grasse was designed in the late 30s, as the lead ship of a series of three cruisers a little heavier than the preceding La Galissonnière class cruisers , notably with an improved anti-aircraft equipment. The other two ships Chateaurenault and Guichen were cancelled.
The unfinished ship (some 28% ready only) was captured in June 1940 by the invading Germans during the Second World War. In April 1942 the Germans began planning to convert De Grasse to an light aircraft carrier. On 3 December 1942 Hitler ordered that De Grasse has to be built as an aircraft carrier for Germany but the work was stopped in February 1943 because of an order of him to stop work on all big ships of the Kriegsmarine because he thought now the big warships as useless for his war efforts.
She was used as an anti-aircraft cruiser and flagship within the Mediterranean squadron, until she was selected to join the Pacific Experimentation Centre to participate in the first nuclear tests in French Polynesia. She undertook some modification in from May 1964 until February 1966, with the bridge being doubled, a 50 meters high quadripod mast mounted on the aft roof and half the armament removed. The ship was also made gas-tight and fitted with washdown facilities. The equipment was modernised and the crew was downsized to 560 men, to make accommodation available for 160 engineers and technicians.
The ship was used for six testing campaigns between 1966 and 1972. She was decommissioned in 1973 and was sold for scrap on 25 January 1974. Scrapping took place in La Spezzia (Italy) in 1975.
| Name: | De Grasse |
| Namesake: | François Joseph Paul de Grasse |
| Builder: | Lorient |
| Laid down: | 1939 |
| Launched: | 11 September 1946 |
| Commissioned: | 10 September 1956 |
| Decommissioned: | 1973 |
| Struck: | 25 January 1974 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 9,389 t (9,241 long tons) |
| Length: | 199.3 m (653 ft 10 in) |
| Beam: | 21.5 m (70 ft 6 in) 18.6 m (61 ft 0 in) w/l |
| Draft: | 5.54 m (18 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Rateau turbine groups from Chantiers de Bretagne, 27,000 hp (20,134 kW) each 4 × boilers |
| Speed: | 33.8 knots (38.9 mph; 62.6 km/h) |
| Complement: | 70 officers 160 warrant officers 750 men |
| Armament: | • 8 × twin turrets 127 mm AA • 10 × twin turrets 57 mm Bofors (later removed) |
| Armour: | Belt: 100 mm (3.9 in) Deck: 38 mm (1.5 in) |
