700-035 CHARLES PLUMIER FRENCH AUXILIARY CRUISER

Charles Plumier was originally a French passenger ship and later an auxiliary cruiser which was launched in October 1938. Its total length at the time of launching was approx. 105 m and a width of 15.8 m. The maximum speed did not exceed 15 knots. In military service, the armament consisted of: 7 single 139 mm guns or 2 75 mm guns. Charles Plumier was built at Chantiers Ateliers de Provence At Port de Bouc for a French shipping line Compagnie Generale Transatlantique operating primarily from Le Havre. In September 1939, the vessel was commandeered by the Marine Nationale and converted into an auxiliary cruiser. In this role, the ship encountered the fall of France in June 1940. After many perturbations, the unit was incorporated into the Royal Navy, where it served as HMS Largs. Under this name, she took part in several major operations, including the 1942 North African landing and the 1944 Normandy landing, where she acted as a command ship assigned to Sword Beach. In 1945, HMS Largs (ex Charles Plumier) went to the Pacific, where he operated in the Malaya region. After the end of World War II, the unit was returned to the Fourth French Republic, and in 1964 it was transferred to Greece. Under the Greek flag, it served under the name MV Pleias. The ship ended its turbulent life in 1968.