In 1975 French Polynesia issued a set of stamps to commemorate 50 Years of
Tahitian Aviation. The 75F value (SG 195 - Scott C 113) shows a naval
seaplane and a cruiser. The wording on the stamp states `L'Hydravion du
Tourville' which translates to `Tourville's Flying boat'. It is, therefore,
assumed that the naval vessel shown on the stamp is the Duquesne class heavy
cruiser FS TOURVILLE of 1928.
Several ships of the French Navy have been named in honour of Anne Hilarion de
Tourville. Among them the FS TOURVILLE, a heavy cruiser built at the Lorient
Navy Yard.
Laid down: 4 March 1925
Launched: 24 August 1926
Commissioned: 1 December 1928
Displacement: 10,000 tonnes (standard)
12,200 tons (full load)
Length: 191 metres (627 feet) overall
Beam: 19 metres (62 feet)
Draught: 6.32 metres (20.75 feet)
Propulsion: 4-shaft Rateau-Bretagne single-reduction geared turbines, 9 Guyot
boilers, 120,000 shp
Speed: 33¾ knots
Range: 4500 @ 15 knots
Complement: 605
Armament: 8 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 guns (4 × 2)
8 75 mm anti-aircraft guns (8 × 1)
8 37 mm anti-aircraft guns (4 × 2)
12 13.2 mm AA (4 × 3)
12 550 mm (21.7 inch) torpedo tubes (4 × 3);
Armour: magazine boxes 30 millimetres;
deck 30 millimetres;
turrets and tower, 30 millimetres
Aircraft carried: 2 GL-812 (superseded by GL-832 then Loire-Nieuport 130, 1
catapult
On her trial off Lorient TOURVILLE attained a speed of 36.1 5 knots, beating the
world's record previously held by her sister ship, the Duquesne, with 35.3
knots.
FS TOURVILLE'S career
January – December 1929 – Voyage around the world
October 1930 – January 1931 – Training cruise to the Antilles
1931 – In the eastern Mediterranean
1936 – Evacuation of French nationals from Spain during the civil war
January 1940 – At Beirut
22 June 1940 - Disarmed at Alexandria, Egypt and interned by the British
30 May 1943 - Rejoined the Allied cause and rearmed
18 August 1943 – Arrived at Dakar
1943/1944 – Patrolling the Atlantic
21 May – 6 June 1944 – Sailed from Dakar to Bizerta
28 November 1944 – Returned to Toulon
5/12/45 – 16/1/46 - From Toulon to Saigon
March 1946 – From Saigon to Shanghai to repatriate the French expeditionary
force in China
27 July 1946 – Returned to Toulon
4 October 1946 – From Toulon to Saigon
16/11/1947 – 23/12/1947 - From Saigon to Brest
Decommissioned 11 December 1948.
Used as a pontoon and accommodation hulk at Brest.
Stricken 28 April 1961.
Sold in 1962 to be broken up for scrap.
SOURCES: WIKIPEDIA
Stanley Gibbons – Collect Aircraft on Stamps (2009 edition)
http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5977.html
http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/TOC.a ... es19280404
Dictionnaire des Batiments de la Flotte de Guerre Francaise – Tome 2 by Lt de
Vas Jean-Michel Roche
Written by Mr. Peter Crichton
French Polynesia SG195