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Hello everyone and welcome to this new suggestion.
Today I’m presenting a new French ship from the Second World War era: the banana boat turned auxiliary cruiser, Cap des Palmes.
Designed in 1935 by the Danish shipyards Helsingors Jernskibs & MK in Elsinore, the Cap des Palmes was a cargo ship whose role was to transport bananas between the colonies and mainland France. It was operated by the Fraissinet company. In 1940, while the French government had surrendered to Germany and the Free French Forces abroad were organizing to confront the invaders, the Cap des Palmes was seized by the British Navy in Libreville. Seeing this as an opportunity to acquire a valuable transport ship, the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL) requested permission to arm the vessel and convert it into a transport and combat ship for the Allies. The British allowed them to keep the ship, but they were reluctant to hand it over to the French Navy. Indeed, all available stocks at the time were requisitioned for the British Navy, and weapons were in short supply. The Free French Naval Forces (FNFL) did, however, manage to obtain two 90mm guns to defend the ship.
For the next three years, the ship carried out various missions, first along the African coast and then in the Pacific. These missions included troop transport, supply deliveries, and even the transport of Japanese prisoners. But it was in 1943, during a refit in the United States, that the Cap des Palmes became a true warship. It was equipped with new 6-inch main guns, more machine guns, and even received torpedo tubes and depth charges. However, its missions remained unchanged; it continued to perform transport operations in the Pacific alongside the only other French ship present in the area, the Chevreuil (a small destroyer). The ship repeatedly engaged Japanese submarines detected by sonar, launching depth charges, but no victories could be confirmed.
At the end of the war in Europe, the ship returned to France via the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean to be modernized and prepared for transporting French troops to Japan, which was then engaged in the war. However, due to Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II, the ship remained in France. It did, however, serve one last time in 1946 under the French Navy flag, transporting troops from Toulon to Saigon to support French troops in Indochina. It was then returned to its original company, which used it again as a cargo ship before selling it. The Cap des Palmes passed through several hands but unfortunately sank off Cape Villano (in Spain) in 1965, marking the end of the ship’s story.
The ship is named after a cape in Liberia, West Africa, where the ship used to collect bananas in its first career.
Characteristics
Length : 102.30 m
Width : 13.40 m
Draft : 5.50 m
Mass : 1950 tons
The ship is powered by a single 9-cylinder B&W 2SCSA diesel engine producing 4,500 hp, allowing it to reach a top speed of 17.5 knots. The crew consists of 140 sailors, primarily volunteers from the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL), but also including some American and Canadian sailors.
Equipment
The Cap des Palmes is surprisingly well equipped for an auxiliary vessel; indeed, it has a sonar (ASDIC) enabling it to detect submarines that could attack it, but it also has a sea-to-sea radar (round antenna in the middle of the ship), a new technology for the time.
Weapons
The ship’s armament is particularly interesting. While it wasn’t particularly well-armed before 1943, it was subsequently equipped to defend itself and attack much larger vessels.
From 1940 to 1943 :
Guns :
- 2 x 90mm/50 Mle1877 guns
- 2 x 13.2mm machine guns
After 1943 :
Guns :
- 2 x 6”/50 Mark 6/8 guns (152mm)
- 2 x 3”/50 guns (76.2mm)
- 12 x 20mm Oerlikon guns
Other :
- 2 x triple torpedo tubes for 21” torpedoes
- 4 x depth charge throwers
In the game, this ship would be a particularly interesting addition, bringing a ship with an important history in the French forces and above all possessing a particularly interesting and diverse armament allowing it to intelligently complement the French tech tree.
Pictures
Sources
- untitled
- Mémorial national des marins morts pour la France - Cap-des-Palmes
- Musée de la résistance en ligne
- expo17.pdf
- * CAP DES PALMES (1940/1946)
- Les paquebots et cargos armés en guerre
- auxillary cruiser Cap des Palmes | laststandonzombieisland
- Archives maritimes: Le bananier Cap-des-Palmes de la compagnie Fraissinet