De Grasse

When Germany invaded France in 1940, several ships were captured in French shipyards, including the incomplete cruiser De Grasse. In August of 1942, it was considered to complete the ship as a light aircraft carrier. Although this had to be done in its original shipyard in Lorries, detailed plans were made. In February 1943 construction was halted since it proved to be too expensive in terms of work and material and the whole project was in danger because of increasing air raids and sabotage. The De Grasse was finally completed as a cruiser by the French navy in 1956, after over 10 years of construction.