Foch was the third unit of the . She entered service in 1931 and spent the interwar period in the Mediterranean. September 1939 found her still in Toulon. She participated in the search for the Graf Spee in the Atlantic before returning to Toulon. The only time she fired her guns in anger was during the bombardment of Vado, Italy in mid-June 1940. She was at Toulon at the time of the Franco-German Armistice in June 1940. She remained at Toulon until the French Fleet there was scuttled in late November 1942. She was subsequently raised by the Italians who scrapped her in 1943-44. She was originally to be named Louvois after the Marquis de Louvois, the Minister of War under King Louis XIV. However, Marshall Ferdinand Foch, France's most famous soldier during the First World War died on 29 March 1929 one month before her launch. She was then renamed Foch in his honour. The main gun turrets were named after places that were associated with Marshall Foch during the Great War. Design and description In the 1927 tranche there was a provision for a 10,000 ton Treaty Cruiser, the vessel would become the third unit of the . The hull construction would be the same as the previous two but the level of protection would be changed. The shallow armoured belt would be discarded in favour of an armoured caisson over the machinery spaces with an increase on the magazine sides. The coal fired cruising boilers would not be installed. In their place an extra oil fuel bunker would be installed. The removal of these boilers led to the second funnel being slimmer than the previous vessels. A tripod fore mast was installed with the supporting legs more splayed than the others. The high angle directors were placed on top of the legs. Aircraft arrangements and guns would be the same as the Colbert. She was ordered on 1 March 1927 then laid down as Project Number C2 with her hull designation of 100 on 21 June 1927 after the launch of her sister ship Colbert. She was launched on 24 April 1929. She commenced her sea trials on 1 August 1930 the her acceptance trials on 16 December 1930. She was commissioned on 15 March and finally completed on 15 September 1931. Service history Pre War service She entered service on 20 December 1931 being assigned to