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The Duquesne type were the first cruisers built for France under the new Washington Treaty cruiser rules, 10,000 tons and 8" guns. The ships were a follow on from the previous Duguay Trouin class theory. Almost no armour and high speed. But these were built at the same time the Italians were building their Trieste and Bolzano class cruisers under the same theory. In the Mediterranean a ship needed to be fast if it was to try and intercept enemy shipping. With the advent of faster and better ranged aircraft a lot of those interception tasks were given over to aircraft.
I am not going to do anything to the Duquesne class. They were a good first effort at a 10,000 ton, 8" cruiser. Their speed had ensured that they would be at each end of the Mediterranean ready to intercept the fast Italian cruisers. With the Armistice, one was interned with Admiral Godfroy's squadron at Alexandria, the other at Mers-el-Kebir.
Once they were released back into the Allied fleets, both ships were allocated time and space at a US base where their systems could be upgraded.
The Duquesne and Tourville made it through the war and carried troops out to Indo-China and supported actions with their guns. Where the Suffren class had been discarded by 1950, the Duquesne's lasted into the 1950's due to their involvement in Indo-China. With the withdrawal of French units, the two ships returned to France, where they were decommissioned and sold for scrap.
