The Glorie (French for "Glory") was a French cruiser and the last ship of the La Galissonnière class. Designed as an improvement on the Émile Bertin class, the new ships were more balanced. Guided by new Italian cruiser designs, particularly the Duke d'Aosta and the Raimondo Montecuccoli, the French reinforced their ships' armor at the expense of speed.
The Glorie cruiser was laid down on November 13, 1933; launched on September 28, 1935; and entered service on November 15, 1937. Shortly thereafter, it traveled to Indochina and then visited Great Britain and the United States. In early 1940, the Glorie accompanied the battleship Dunkerque on a voyage to Canada to transport the French gold reserve. Following France's surrender in June 1940, the Glorie was stationed in Algeria but soon moved to Toulon. In September, it was sent to Dakar as part of Force Y. En route, however, the force was intercepted by British ships, and the Glorie was escorted to Casablanca. Following the beginning of Operation Torch and Germany's denunciation of the peace treaty with France, as well as the occupation of French territory, the Glorie defected to the Allies. It went to New York for repairs and modernization. Subsequently, it was based in Dakar with Italian and French cruisers and participated in the search and destruction of German blockade runners in the South Atlantic. In February 1945, it moved to the Mediterranean Sea, where it provided transport and fire support during landings in Italy and Corsica. The Gloire participated in the landing in southern France and supported the landing force. After the war, the Gloire sailed to the coast of Indochina several times. On February 1, 1955, it was placed in reserve. On January 2, 1958, the decision was made to scrap the cruiser for metal.
The Gloire was introduced in Update 2.49 "Tusk Force", in its 1947 configuration. This cruiser has good mobility and a fairly powerful anti-aircraft battery. Unlike its sister ship, La Galissonnière, and its predecessor, Emile Bertin, the Gloire has faster-firing main-caliber guns. Its shortcomings include mediocre armor and survivability due to its small crew.
