French Navy Cruiser Left Abandoned For 10 Years

By Danny Baggott @Dan_Baggie

A FRENCH navy and missile cruiser that served in the 1991 Gulf War has been left to rot for 10 years

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This French navy missile cruiser has been deserted since 2007

The Colbert (C611) was an anti-air cruiser that assisted the French navy from 1956 to 1991 before being converted into a museum ship at Bordeaux.

However since 2007, the ship has been awaiting the scrap in various bays throughout northern France.

Part time photographer, Brian Preciousdecay, captured the stunning ship

And a part time photographer known by the alias, Brian Preciousdecay, was lucky enough to capture the historical cruiser in the bay of Normandy back in 2015.

Brian, 40, said: “I have explored around 500 abandoned places in the last few years and this one had it all!

The Colbert (C611) was used by the French navy in the 1991 Gulf War

“Excitement, decent preparation, a long drive to get there, the anxiety of not being caught and the opportunity to shoot pictures inside a missile cruiser with a history of service in the Gulf War.

“We came across operating rooms, control rooms and the bridge and it was all still in pretty good condition.

Brian has now explored over 500 abandoned locations - he ranks this in his top five

“The area where the Masurca missiles were launched was so impressive to see – one of the missiles was still there, ready for take off!”

Brian, residing in Rotterdam, Netherlands, often uses Google Earth to search abandoned locations throughout the world – and he felt the need to travel to Normandy when he discovered the whereabouts of the missile cruiser.

Brian had to hide from the patrol officers when photographing the ship

He said: “We knew about these mighty ships lying idle in a bay in France.

“We also knew that we had to peddle ourselves to these ships and that the current can be treacherous – so we left home with two inflatable toy boats and a pump and headed to France.

“We managed to get on board safely without being spotted by the patrol boats.

There was a missile on board which had never been set off

“When we were checking for entrances to get inside again we at one point heard a boat approaching so we ducked down and could see that a small patrol boat passed by.

“It cruised around all the boats in the bay and then left towards the sea. A few moments later we found an entrance and we were in.”

This particular venture was made more difficult for Brian to plan due to the changing tides and patrolling officers.

Brian had to make sure he prepared himself before tackling this venture

“It’s not as easy as walking into an abandoned house,” Brian continued.

“It’s the preparation, checking the tide schedules, buying boats and actually going into the water with my expensive gear towards this huge vessel whilst trying to avoid being seen by the guards.

“It was all extremely exciting – being somewhere you aren’t supposed to be.

“This is exploring to the extreme.”