The French had a dedicated training cruiser for many years. It had also been called Jeanne D'Arc and been an old armoured cruiser from the turn of the century. The old ship was renamed and then scrapped once the new Jeanne D'Arc was completed. This also happened in 1964 when this ships replacement entered service. As well as its training duties the ship could also act as a fast response ship for either disaster relief or for military actions where the cadet decks could be filled with troops and the ships boats could then land them, if required.
Compared to the rest of the French cruisers, the Jeanne D'Arc was a barge. The ship was not designed for high speed. What it was useful for, in time of war, was as a patrol cruiser where its long range was an asset. At the time of the Armistice the Jeanne D'Arc was with the Bearn in the West Indies. The Fleet that had gathered there, self interned until December 1942 when the dissolving of Vichy France allowed all external French ships to join with the Allied forces. Two and a half years in the wilderness meant tat all of these ships required time in dockyard hands to upgrade weaponry, but most of all - electronics.
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