Heller 81040 Colbert

Colbert (C611) is a French anti-aircraft cruiser, later converted to a missile cruiser. The keel for this unit was laid in 1954, the launch took place in March 1956, and the commissioning for service in the French Marine Nationale - in 1959. The full displacement of the ship at the time of launching was 11,100 tons, 187.5 m long and 20.3 m wide. The maximum speed was up to 31 knots. The Colbert was armed at the time of the launch with: 16 guns cal. 127 mm mod. 1948, 20 57 mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1951 and could take a helicopter on board (eg Aerospatiale Alouette II).

Colbert (C611), was the last classic cruiser built in France after 1945. Its design was based on the design of another anti-aircraft cruiser - De Grass, however, the design was significantly modernized. The unit had very strong anti-aircraft armament and at the time of launch it looked like it was simply "packed" with weapons. Upon entering service, she was based in Toulon on the Mediterranean Sea, becoming the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron shortly thereafter. In the years 1970-1972, the unit underwent a thorough modernization involving the dismantling of most of the artillery weapons in favor of missiles and more modern electronic equipment. Colbert (C611) was used in combat only once - during the Gulf War (1990-1991) as a cover for the aircraft carrier Clemenceau. Colbert was decommissioned shortly after the conflict ended, and in 1993 she was converted into a museum ship.