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Allied Warships

Pluton

Light cruiser of the Pluton class

NavyThe French Navy
TypeLight cruiser
ClassPluton 
Pennant 
Built byArsenal de Lorient (Lorient, France) 
Ordered 
Laid down16 Apr, 1928 
Launched10 Apr, 1929 
Commissioned10 Apr, 1931 
Lost13 Sep, 1939 
Loss position
 
HistoryPluton (Capt. H.J.E. Dubois) was sunk at Casablanca due to an internal explosion while unloading mines.

Pluton was intended to be renamed La Tour d'Auvergne on completion of a refit from which she was to emerge as a seagoing training ship for Sub-Lieutenants, but was lost before the renaming could take place. 


Noteable events involving Pluton include:

13 Sep, 1939
At the time of her loss she was in Casablanca harbor unloading the mine cargo, due to a change in operational orders. Something went deadly wrong while defuzing was in process, blowing up the ship with the loss of 215 men.
In addition to Pluton's sinking, the blast damaged beyond repairs the French auxiliary minesweepers AD.287 Charcot and AD.351 Chellah, while several other ships and craft in the vicinity suffered various degrees of damage.


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