Le Triomphant's Pacific patrols and ten-month Sydney refit

Le Triomphant's Panama Canal transit was reported so accurately that it revealed Japanese observation of passing ships. She visited French Polynesia, Fiji, and other Pacific islands as a Free French presence, then suffered damage between New Zealand and Sydney. Evacuation and escort duties followed. A refit at Garden Island Dockyard in Sydney lasted from March 1942 to January 1943 because compatible French spare parts were difficult to obtain. Unfamiliar machinery had to be rebuilt, leaving an otherwise useful warship unavailable during the Japanese advances.