French cruiser Pluton

Approximate outlines of Pluton
History
France
Name	Pluton
Namesake	Pluto
Builder	Arsenal de Lorient
Cost	102,671,658 francs
Laid down	16 April 1928
Launched	10 April 1929
Commissioned	25 January 1932
Fate	Sunk by accidental explosion, 13 September 1939
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General characteristics
Type	Minelaying cruiser
Displacement	5,300 t (5,200 long tons) (standard) 6,214 t (6,116 long tons) (full load)
Length	152.5 m (500 ft 4 in)
Beam	15.5 m (50 ft 10 in)
Draft	5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)
Installed power	4 × du Temple boilers 57,000 shp (43,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	4,510 nmi (8,350 km; 5,190 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Capacity	1000 troops
Complement	513 men
Armament	4 × 138.6 mm (5.5 in) guns 10 × 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns 220–270 mines

Pluton was a fast minelaying cruiser built for the French Navy in the late 1920s. She was also able to carry 1,000 troops on her mine deck as a fast troop transport. Shortly after completion she was modified and became a gunnery training ship, replacing the elderly armored cruiser Gueydon. Shortly before the beginning of World War II, she reverted to her original role and most of the gunnery training equipment was removed. She was sent to Casablanca, in French Morocco, when the war began to lay a minefield, but the order was cancelled a day later and she was ordered to disembark her naval mines. She exploded while landing her still-fuzed mines on 13 September 1939.