French cruiser Gloire ( 1935 ) The Gloire was a French light cruiser of the " La Galissonnière " class . After completing trials , " Gloire " arrived in Brest on 18 November 1937 , then left for French Indochina on 1 December , returning to Brest on 16 April 1938 . " Gloire " joined the 4th Cruiser Division in January 1939 , with which she visited Britain and the United States . She was refitted between October and December 1939 . She then sailed for Canada with Dunkerque , carrying gold , and subsequently escorted a Canadian troop convoy on her return . Atlantic patrols as part of Admiral Marcel - Bruno Gensoul ' s Force de Raid followed . At the time of the French surrender in June 1940 , " Gloire " was at Algiers , but returned to Toulon on 4 July , where the 4th Cruiser Division formed part of the French Independent Naval Force . " Gloire " initially stayed loyal to the Vichy French government . Free French Forces ’ successes in Chad and Cameroon became politically embarrassing , and so the Axis Naval Commission permitted the despatch of " Montcalm " and " Georges Leygues " to Dakar as Force Y . After an unchallenged passage past Gibraltar , for which the local British commander was removed , they arrived on 14 September . On 18 September the 4th Cruiser Division sailed for Libreville , French Equatorial Africa . They were intercepted by British forces . " Gloire " suffered machinery problems and was unable to outrun the British flotilla , so she turned back and she was ' escorted ' into Casablanca by the Allied cruisers HMAS " Australia " and HMS " Cumberland " and was therefore not present during the subsequent British attack on Dakar ( Operation " Menace " ) . Between April and July , " Gloire " underwent a refit at Casablanca , and on 12 September 1942 took part in the rescue operations after " Laconia " had been sunk , arriving on the scene in the evening of 17 September . After the Allied invasion of north Africa ( Operation Torch ) and the consequent abrogation by the Germans of the armistice ( Case Anton ) in November 1942 , the " Gloire " rejoined the Allies . Three surviving " La Galissonnière " class cruisers , based at Dakar , were refitted at Philadelphia from February 1943 , removing aircraft installations and adding light anti - aircraft weapons . The " Gloire " then operated from Dakar together with other French and Italian cruisers , searching for Axis blockade runners in the central and south Atlantic until 16 January 1944 , when she moved to the Mediterranean . In February , she supported the Allied landings at Anzio , bombarding enemy positions in the Bay of Gaete ( firing 604 rounds ) and transporting troops to Italy and Corsica . After refit at Algiers between 27 April and 17 June , she participated in the landing in the south of France ( Operation Dragoon ) in August , firing nearly 2 , 000 rounds in shore support between 15 and 28 August . The " Gloire " continued to support Allied forces along the French and Italian Rivieras until the end of the war , except for a special trip to the USA in December . Postwar , " Gloire " made three deployments to Indo - China and she was finally placed in reserve on 1 February 1955 , being condemned for disposal on 2 January 1958 .