Trumpeter 05375 French Light Cruiser Georges Leygues 1:350

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At the start of World War II, she was assigned to the Force de Raid, patrolling the Atlantic in response to German commerce raids. The only incident, however, was when the French submarine Casabianca was shelled in error. To pre-empt the potential Italian threat, Georges Leygues and other French warships were moved to Mers-el-Kebir (now Oran) on 24 April 1940.

The 3rd and 4th Cruiser Divisions, including Georges Leygues avoided the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir and eventually put into Toulon. On 9 September 1940, she left Toulon with her sister ships Gloire and Montcalm, and passed Gibraltar without being challenged (for which the local British commander, Admiral North, was relieved of his command). The flotilla refuelled at Casablanca and continued to Dakar, arriving on 14 September.

The three cruisers left Dakar on 18 September, intending to go south to Libreville, but they were intercepted by Allied forces, including the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia. Montcalm and Georges Leygues outran the Allied ships and returned to Dakar, where they helped to defend the port against the unsuccessful British and Free French attack (Operation Menace) on 23–25 September 1940. Georges Leygues hit Australia twice and avoided Fleet Air Arm torpedo attacks. Gloire, slowed by mechanical troubles and, unable to escape, had been ordered back to Casablanca.

Apart from a transport of bullion to Casablanca in August 1941, the next two years were uneventful until the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) and the German occupation of Vichy France, when she joined the Allies, as did other French warships. Early in 1943, she began Atlantic patrols from Dakar, and on 13 April, she intercepted the German blockade runner Portland, which was scuttled by her crew.

Georges Leygues was refitted at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, from July until October 1943, removing the aircraft installations and adding light anti-aircraft weapons.