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French Navy: light cruiser Duguay-Trouin

Duguay-Trouin is the lead ship of her class of light cruisers built for the French navy in the years following the end of World War I. Being not only the first capital ship built by France in the postwar period, Duguay-Trouin will also be one of the first French vessels to arrive in War Thunder as part of the “Sky Guardians” major update!

Briefly: A highly mobile French interwar light cruiser, sporting excellent firepower but very limited protection.

Duguay-Trouin, light cruiser, France, Rank III. Premium vessel, available in the Pack.

Features:

  • Powerful primary armament
  • Excellent mobility
  • Very light protection
  • Versatile secondary weapons
History

In the years following the end of WWI, French naval designers began working on a new cruiser design, intended to counter Italian vessels which were seen as the most likely adversaries in a potential future conflict. However, as design work stagnated by the start of the 1920s, this made it possible to compare the French design with contemporary designs of other nations. Striking a particular interest in the American Omaha class light cruiser, French shipbuilders revised their designs and eventually came up with four different drafts.

In 1922, one of the designs was selected for construction despite the designers intending to further improve it. As a result, the French navy ordered three ships for construction, which began shortly after the orders were placed. Duguay-Trouin would be laid down as the lead ship of the class and was also the first French capital ship built to modern standards and classifications established after the war. Following a year of construction work, Duguay-Trouin was launched in August 1923 and subsequently entered active service by the end of 1926.

During the interwar period, Duguay-Trouin primarily served in the Mediterranean sea while also going on a longer cruise to Indo-China in the early 1930s. Several years later, Duguay-Trouin found herself taking part in the international patrols to protect shipping during the Spanish Civil War. In WWII, Duguay-Trouin would spend several years interned at the port of Alexandria after the Fall of France in June 1940. However, after rejoining Allied forces in 1943, the ship was modernized several times and also took part in the Allied landings in southern France in August 1944. At the start of the Cold War, Duguay-Trouin continued her service by taking part in the Indochina War in 1947, operating out of Saigon for several years until the ship was ultimately decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1953.

Pre-order - Duguay-Trouin Pack
The Kit Includes:
  • Duguay-Trouin-class, Duguay-Trouin, 1944 (Rank III, France)
  • 2000 Golden Eagles
  • Premium account for 15 days
  • Pre-order bonus: “Breton corsair” title
  • Pre-order bonus: Corsair decal
  • Pre-order bonus: French cruiser captain portrait

In War Thunder, Duguay-Trouin will be one the first French bluewater vessels, available for early pre-order. Considered a cutting-edge warship for its time, striking a perfect combination of mobility and firepower, Duguay-Trouin will not only offer its aspiring captains a unique set of capabilities but also a sneak peak at the French naval forces, due to arrive in a future update!

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French cruiser captain portrait

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Corsair decal

Fun Fact: Upon commissioning, ships of the Duguay-Trouin class were the first cruisers in the world to feature a linearly distributed primary battery housed in superfiring turrets.

Despite being an early ‘treaty cruiser’, Duguay-Trouin can boast a rather formidable weapons arsenal, particularly highlighted by its four twin 6.1’’ (155 mm) turrets forming the primary battery. Arriving to War Thunder in its late WWII-era refit means that Duguay-Trouin will also pack an equally respectable number of secondary weapons. For instance, the ship comes fitted with four 75 mm dual purpose guns as well as up to six 40 mm Bofors and 20 20 mm Oerlikon cannons!

However, Duguay-Trouin is not only a very well armed light cruiser, it’s also an extremely agile one at that too! Being powered by four steam turbines, generating a combined power output of 102,000 horsepower, Duguay-Trouin is able to reach an excellent top speed of 33 kts (61 km/h). Shedding protection can be considered Duguay-Trouin’s achilles heel as the ship’s protection may as well be viewed as only symbolic. With only up to 30 mm of armor plating shielding some of the ship’s most vital components, Duguay-Trouin is vulnerable to even direct destroyer fire at everything but extreme engagement distances. As a result, aspiring commanders of this warship simply cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks and expose their ship to overwhelming enemy fire. Instead, a more sensible tactic would be to assist your allies in the advance and provide accurate fire support to sink hostile ships or down inbound enemy aircraft which dare to fly too close.

Download Wallpaper:

The light cruiser Duguay-Trouin is available as part of the early access pack for the open testing of the French navy in War Thunder, which we have planned for one of the updates following the “Sky Guardians”. The early access pack will also give you special pre-order bonuses, which are available only before the start of the OBT, and will also allow you to train several crews in vehicle slots so that when testing begins, you will have skilled sailors and officers! As a reminder, like the destroyer Aigle, the light cruiser Duguay-Trouin will have three respawns in the Arcade and Realistic battles before testing the French fleet begins.

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