Dunkerque class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Dunkerque class was a new type of warship of the French Navy
built during the 1930s, labeled as 'fast battleship
s'. Not as large as other contemporary battleship
s, they were designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland
class. They had a specific main artillery arrangement, with two quadruple 330 mm
turrets forward. They saw war service, first giving chase, with the Royal Navy, to the German warships attacking commercial maritime routes. Later, after the 1940 British attack on Mers-el-Kébir, they stayed, under the Vichy
regime control, in the Mediterranean French harbours, and were both scuttled
in Toulon, in November 1942.
, concluded by the Washington Naval Treaty
, decided to stop, for ten years, any new battleship building, as a new naval armaments race was developing, between the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Japan, building or projecting respectively the Colorado
and South Dakota
class battleships, and the Lexington
class battle cruisers, the G3
battlecruisers, the Mutsu
class and Tosa
class battleships and Amagi
class battlecruisers. The Treaty fixed for battleships to be built, the limits of 35,000 tons for standard displacement, and 406 mm (16-inches) for the main artillery calibre, and allowed the United States to complete three Colorado
class battleships, Japan to complete two Mutsu
class battleships, and the United Kingdom to build two battleships, respecting the limits fixed by the Treaty. France and Italy each were also allowed to replace, after 1927, two of their old battleships.
Germany was not subject to the Washington
Treaty limitations, but to specific stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles
, and was forbidden to build any warship with a displacement greater than 10,000 tons
.
This limit was less than the seize of the HMS Minotaur
armoured cruiser class, or of the SMS Schleswig-Holstein
pre-dreadnought, all built before 1910.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan have used their rights resulting from the Washington
Treaty, but neither France not Italy, due mainly to financial difficulties, but also because, even in naval circles, the interest of building battleships seemed very questionable, as no decisive victory had resulted from a cataclysmic clash between battleships, since the American victories of Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba, during the Spanish-American war
and the Japanese victory of Tsushima
, more than 24 and 17 years earlier.
The W W I experience had clearly shown the problem of ensuring the safety of maritime commercial roads, for which cruisers appeared better suited than battleships, so by the late 1920s, all the countries which had signed the Washington
Treaty undertook the building of new heavy cruiser
classes.
So, in the late 1920s, the most powerful battleships had been designed before the Washington
Treaty, and were armed with four double turrets of 15-inches (381 mm)(Queen Elizabeth
, and Revenge
classes, and HMS Hood
), or 16-inches caliber (406 mm) (Colorado
, and Nagato
classes). The Nelson
class battleships themselves, built between 1922-1927, with three triple 16-inches turrets forward, were based on 1921 G3
battlecruiser concept. The top speed was, for most of them, of 21–24 knots (Revenge
, Colorado
, Nelson
, Queen Elizabeth
battleship classes), for a few ones of 27 knots (Nagato
class battleships), with the notable exception, in Western waters, of the HMS Hood
fast battleship, and the two Renown
class battlecruisers, whose speed exceeded 30 knots.
, discussed, in 1926-1927, of ships designed as «cruiser killers», able to outgun and outrun the Italian heavy cruiser
s, which were considered as the main threat against the maritime liaisons between France and North Africa, and the first unit built, Trento
, had been laid down in 1925, and launched in 1926. The French designers considered a displacement of 17,500 tons which would have allowed to build four units, respecting the maximum limit of 70,000 tons, which the Washington
Treaty had fixed for the replacements authorized for France. An artillery arrangement of two 305 mm (12-inches) quadruple turrets forward was examined, combining the choice of quadruple turrets made by the French designers of the Normandie
and Lyon
battleship classes and the «all forward» arrangement of the Nelson
battleship class. The speed would have been of 34-35 knots, the armor able to resist to 203 mm shells. But, finally, such warships would not have been able to fight in the battle line against the old Italian battleships.
In 1927, studies were undertaken of ships designed as battlecruisers of 37,000 tons. A «trial» displacement of 37,000 tons would have been the equivalent of a «standard» Washington
displacement of 32-33,000 tons, near the maximum limit for battleship displacement fixed by the Washington
Treaty. Two variants of draft drawings have been found. Both show warships, up-scaled versions from the Suffren
cruiser class, with a tripod foremast with the fire control director for the main guns atop, and two ranked funnels, the main artillery in three turrets, two fore and one aft, a secondary artillery of quad turrets of 130 mm against ships, eight single 90 mm Mle 1926 HA guns, twelve 37 mm Mle 1925 single AA mountings, and triple torpedo tubes. The aircraft installations would have taken place in the center of the ship, with a hangar after the bridge structure and two catapults abeam the second funnel. The propulsion machinery would have been constituted of two groups of boilers and turbines, as on the French cruiser Duquesne
.
The 1927-1928 first variants would have had a main artillery of quad turrets of 305 mm, three quad 130 mm turrets, an armored belt of 220-280 mm thickness, and twelve Guyot-du-Temple boilers, developping 180,000 hp for a speed of 33 knots, with a hull of 254 m length, and 30.5 m beam. The 1928 second variant would have been rather a «fast battleship» than a battlecruiser, with a main artillery of three twin turrets of 406 mm, four quad 130 mm turrets, a shorter hull (235 m), with a sligthly broader beam (31 m), a thicker armor, and only two thirds of the power of the 33-knots ship, for a speed of 27 knots.
If there were some graving docks, as Brest Laninon docks, or Toulon Vauban grands bassins, completed in 1927, or Bizerta Sidi Abdallah dock, where it was possible to accomodate hulls of more of 250 m length, there were no Navy building docks to build such hulls, the Brest Salou n°4 dock was only 200 m long. In civil shipbuilding yards, only one liner, SS Île de France
, 247 m long, whose maiden voyage occurred in 1927, had been built, in the Saint-Nazaire Penhoët yards. So, the building of 35,000 tons battleships was clarly outpassing the technical and financial capacities of the French Navy, as the building costs of the infrastructures would have been equivalent of those of two more battleships, and would have jeopardized the bulding programme of the other categorizes of warships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines.
Moreover, in the same time, discussions at the Disarmement Subcommitee of the League of Nations had begun in Geneva, about the pursuit of naval armaments limitation policy. The United Kingdom was trying to obtain more drastic limitations than those of the Washington
Treaty, as 25,000 tons for battleship maximum displacement, and 305 mm for battleship maximum caliber, and the Frenh Government did not wanted to jeopardize these negociations.
The Service Technique des Constructions Navales (S.T.C.N.), French equivalent of the Department of Director of Naval Construction, studied in 1929, on the request of Vice Admiral Violette
who has become Chief of Staff of the French Navy
in 1928, the concept of a «protected cruiser», with a displacement of 23,690 tons, three 305 mm turrets, one triple and one quad fore, one triple aft, four twin 138 mm mountings, caliber used on the most recent destroyers, eight double turrets of 100 mm AA, as on the last heavy cruiser, Algérie
. The speed would have been of 29 knots, and the armor able to resist only to 203 mm shells. But the general layout is interesting, as it is no more reminiscent of the cruiser Suffren
, but of the latter cruiser Algérie
, with a distinctive forward tower and a single funnel well abaft the forward tower, anticipating the profile of the latter Dunkerque
.
laid down the keel of Deutschland
, an «armoured ship» (in German Panzerschiffe), of 10,000 tons displacement, respecting formally the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles
, actually at least 25 % heavier but this was not known at this moment. With two 280 mm
(11-inches) caliber triple turrets, and a speed of 26 knots, this ship outgunned every so-called heavy cruiser
with their 203 mm (8 inches) guns intended to respect the Washington
Treaty limitations concerning the caliber of cruiser main artillery, and outran every battleship, except the three fastest British units, HMS Hood
, HMS Renown
and HMS Repulse
.
The type of Deutschland
was commonly designated as a «pocket battleship», being actually as her German denomination indicated well, an «armoured cruiser». The use of welding instead of riveting for the hull, in order to save weight, the diesel propulsion, which assured a longer radius, and the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles
, without a caliber limit, have enabled the Reichsmarine to build a warship that most experts thought inconceavable, and which revealed itself as a dreadful threat for the commercial maritime roads in Eastern Atlantic.
The reaction of the French Admiralty was to prepare draft drawings for a ship which would outclass the German "pocket battleship", in armament, armor and speed. It appeared that the armament of the French previous projects might be retained, that the speed might be of 30 knots, and not necessarily superior, but the most important feature was that the armor had to be thicker to resist to 280 mm shells. These considerations were leading to a displacement of about 23,000 to 25,000 tons, which fits the maximum displacement that the United Kingdom found suitable in the naval armament limitations negociations.
The 1930 London Naval Treaty
decided that the ten-years «battleship holiday» agreed at Wahington would be extended for further five years, until 1936, December 31. France and Italy may, however,build the remplacement tonnage which they were entitled to lay down in 1927 and 1929 in accordance with the provisions of the Washington
Treaty. Nevertheless, France and Italy refused to adhere to every other qualitative limitations, which were mainly concerning cruisers. France argued that ship construction had just started in Germany of the armour-clad Deutschland
, and following the rejection of the agreement by France, Italy was no longer prepared to accept new restrictions.
In order to establish an agreed ceiling to new naval construction, bilateral talks took place between France and Italy, with the great encouragement of the United Kingdom, at the very beginning of 1931, and a «basis of agreement» was concluded on March 1. Up to 1936, both countries would have been allowed to build only two battleships each of 23,333 tons. But it was not possible to go further, as the Regia Marina
was not satisfied of the 23,333 tons battleship Italian project, with three twin 381 mm turrets, and a profile reminiscent of the heavy cruiserPola
, then in construction: a very complete refit of the artillery and power plant of the Conte di Cavour
battleships class will begin in 1933, and the studies on the 35,000 tons will be going on.
However, in 1931, the French Admiralty explicitely confirms the choice of the battleship of 23,333 tons, as the battleship of 17,500 tons would have been too lightly armored, and the battleship of 35,000 tons would have required technical and financial capacities that outranged the possibilities of France. This battleship of 23,333 tons would have had a 213 m lenght, with a 27.5 m beam, two quad 305 mm/55 cal turrets forward, three quad 130 mm turrets Dual Purpose aft, a speed of 30 knots, an armored belt of 230 mm, and an horizontal protection of 150 mm. But when this proposal was submitted to the Parliament, in May, the discussion lasted two months, with much criticism, as it was difficult to understand why it was necessary to have a displacement double of the warship which was to be countered, and why it was not preferable to build a 35000 tons battleship. So, in the 1931 Estimates, in July, funds were allocated only for further studies, with the proviso that the final characteristics should be subject to a thorough revision, the results of which would have to be submitted to the Parliament, before passing any building orders. Then, Vice Admiral Durand-Viel
, the new Chief of Staff of the French Navy
from 1931 January, requested further studies for upgrading the main artillery caliber, from305 mm to 330 mm, to outgun the old Italian battleships.
This resulted to an increase in displacement to 26,500 tons, a 2-meter increase in lenght, a 2.5-meter increase in beam, a slight reduction in maximum speed to 29.5 knots, the substitution of 330 mm/52 guns to 305 mm/55 ones, two more double 130 mm DP turrets, ans a slight increase of the armor, in the armored belt, as on the armored decks In early 1932, the project was approved by the Parliamentary commitees, and the Minister of Defence, François Pietri
, succeeded to include it in the 1932 Estimates. So emerged the Dunkerque., which was ordered on October 26, and laid down on December 24.
On February 14, 1934, two German battleships (or battlecruisers) were ordered. Gneisenau
was laid down on May 6, 1935, and Scharnhorst
, on June 15, 1935. They were heavier than the Dunkerque class battleships, better armoured, but armed with nine 280 mm guns, the same caliber as the Deutschland
class. A heavier caliber had been considered for the main artillery, and was preferred by Adolf Hitler, as the Dunkerque class battleships were armed with 330 mm
guns. But when the final design of these ships was about to be settled, Germany was negotiating the 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement
, and the British Government was pressing very strongly for a limitation on the battleship main artillery caliber. So reluctantly, an improved 280 mm gun, with longer barrel, higher muzzle velocity, but the same 280 mm caliber was chosen.
As the French Navy ship designers believed that Dunkerque class battleships' armor was able to resist to 280 mm caliber shells, there would not have been any necessity to conceive an heavier battleship class. But Duce Benito Mussolini announced, on May 26, 1934, the decision of Italy to fully use the right of building battleships as they were resulting of the naval limitations treaties. Some days later, the Stefani news agency announced the laying down of two battleships of 35,000 tons, the first ones since the Treaty of Washington
which received in October the names of Littorio
and Vittorio Veneto
.
The time had occurred to build the first French 35 000 tons battleship. But time was missing to achieve a design for new heavier battleships class, with new plans, the development, ordering and manufacture of new guns and machinery : the French Navy Board recommended, on June 25 to proceed as planned, ordering a second Dunkerque, with some increase of her vertical armor. The order for Strasbourg
was placed on July 16 and she was laid down on November.
's Nelson
class battleships but they had three turrets carrying nine guns and the angles of fire for the rearmost were limited by the turret in front. The Dunkerques used two quadruple 330 mm
turrets which gave unrestricted forwards fire. In the context of the Washington Naval Treaty
which limited the upper displacement of ships, the quadruple arrangement had the advantage of saving weight on turret armouring, compared to four double turrets, while retaining the same firepower. The drawback was that a single lucky shot immobilising one of the turrets would effectively put half the main artillery out of action. So the French quadruple turrets of both Dunkerque and Richelieu class battleships, were divided internally to localise damage, and in order to avoid that one unlucky hit damages both turrets together, they were positioned 27 m apart from one another. On the other hand, the entirety of the main artillery was able to fire forwards, as the ship closed in to her enemy, in an angle where she made the smallest possible target.
The mounting of all the main armament in quadruple turrets was a feature unique to the last French battleships design. The quadruple arrangement had been proposed for the unbuilt Normandie
and Lyon
class battleships, just before World War I. Combined with an all forward disposition, it was found also on the subsequent Richelieu
and Jean Bart
. But in the French quadruple turrets, the four barrels were not mounted independently in individual mounts because this would have meant an unduly large barbette diameter. For that reason the right and left hand pair of barrels where placed in a common mount each. It was not the case on the fore and aft 14-inches quadruple turrets of the British HMS King George V
class battleships.
The guns of the half turrets were so close, that a wake effect between shells fired simultaneously by a half turret led to an excessive dispersal, which was not corrected before 1948 on the Richelieu
class battleships.
The secondary artillery was, for the first time on French battleships, a dual purpose one, anti-ship and long-range anti-aircraft, with five turrets of 130 mm caliber, three quadruple armoured turrets aft, with the same two dual mountings as the 330 mm turrets, and two double lightly armoured turrets, beside the central superstructure. But these guns had a too weak caliber for their anti-ship mission, and a poor efficiency as anti-aircraft artillery against close rapid aircraft, as dive bombers, due to a too slow rate of fire (10 shots per min). With five 37mm AA double mountings and eight 13,7 mm quadritube machine-guns, these ships lacked the numerous quick-firing light artillery as it was mounted on the Richelieu, during her refit.
A massive fore control tower was, for the first time, fitted with a internal lift, and topped by three range finders mounted on the same axis. The accumulation of heavy weights high up in the top (85 tons) was noteworthy. A secondary control tower, topped by two range finders, was positioned between the funnel and the aircraft installations (hangar, catapult and crane), fitted to launch three or four seaplanes.
The proportion of armour on the Dunkerque relative to the design displacement reached 35.9%, which was the highest percentage recorded until then. The armour protection of the class was also very modern, as it used the "all or nothing" armour scheme, unlike contemporary German warships. The citadel about 126 m long corresponded to about 60% of the ship's length, but left unprotected a long forward part of the ship. The belt armour was designed to withstand the 280 mm German naval guns. The armoured protection was further increased on Strasbourg, upon the recommendation of the Navy Higher Council; the protection weight was increased by 749 tons, and the proportion of armour relative to displacement reached 37.3%.
The propulsion was assured by six Indret boilers, and four Parsons
turbines, with four shafts, for a speed of 29.5 knots, with 112,500 hp. During the speed trials, by May 1936 fo the Dunkerque, and July 1938 for the Strasbourg, the top speed of 31 knots has been reached during two hours, with a developed power of 132,000 hp. The radius was 7,850 nmi at 15 knots, and 2,150 nmi at 28 knots.
During the sea trials, it appeared that the funnel smoke interfered with the use of the aft control tower range finders, so both ships were fitted, in 1938, with a more important funnel cap, nicknamed as a "bowler hat". War service showed that the ships' bows suffered damage in the rough seas of the North Atlantic winter, one of their Flag Officers speaking dedaignously of "hull from trying carene pool". The German Scharnhorst
class battleships had the same problem, particularly during the winter 1939-40, even after they had been fitted with a reinforced "Atlantic bow" in 1938-39.
The Dunkerque class battleships seemed to have been relatively lightly built, and suffered damage from the blast, the noise, the smoke and the recoil of her own 330 mm
guns firing, and as noted above, the excessive closeness of the barrels of the two pairs of one quadruple turret caused an excessive dispersal of the shells of the same salvo.
The Strasbourg
had a fore tower silhouette slightly different, integrating the conning tower and the bridge installations, raising one of the range finders from the roof of the conning tower to the top of the topmost turret mast gallery.
and Strasbourg
participated with British forces to the safety of commercial maritime roads. From October to December 1939, they tried unsuccessfully to give chase to German surface raiders, Dunkerque
with HMS Hood
against Scharnhost
and Gneisenau
, Strasbourg
with HMS Hermes
aircraft carrier against Admiral Graf Spee
. After this operation, 800 powder charges from Strasbourg
remained stored in Dakar. This powder was, during the battle of Dakar
, used for Richelieu and was wrongly incrimininated in the explosion of Richelieu upper turret 380 mm barrels. Dunkerque
, on December 1939, took part in the shipping to Canada of a part of the Banque de France
's gold reserve.
From 1939, Dunkerque
and Strasbourg
, cruisers and large destroyers formed a fast warships naval force, called Force de Raid
. Based in Brest, Dunkerque
was its flagship. In light of the dubious Italian attitude during the spring 1940, the Force de Raid
was permanently transferred to the Mediterranean Sea in late April 1940.
The only test in battle for Dunkerque
and Strasbourg
came in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, after the fall of France, on July 3, 1940, from the Force H
battleships, HMS Hood
, HMS Revenge
, and HMS Valiant
which they had not been designed to fight against.
Luckily escaping the 15 inches (381 mm) shells of the British guns and the pursuit by HMS Hood
and Fairey Swordfish
torpedo bombers of HMS Ark Royal
, Strasbourg
and her destroyers escort reached Toulon, in the evening of the following day. As the old super-dreadnought Bretagne
capsized and sank, killing nearly 1,000 sailors, Dunkerque
suffered four 15 inch shell hits, the first rebouncing on the upper 330 mm
turret roof, killing all the men in the right half turret, the second damaging the aircraft installations, the last ones damaging boilers and destroying the electric power plant, so the ship had to be moored on the other side of Mers-el-Kebir roadsteadThe damage was not as deadly as might have been feared, because the British fire ceased after less than fifteen minutes, the French admiral having signaled that he had ordered his ships to cease firing. So Admiral Esteva, C. in C. the French Navy in North Africa, told in a later radio message to the French Admiralty, of "moderate" damages.
Knowing this, the British Admiralty ordered Admiral Sommerville
, Force H
Flag Officer, to attack again, to put Dunkerque
permanently out of action. Dunkerque
being beached just in front of a village, Admiral Sommerville, fearing that gun fire might cause serious collateral damages to civilians, preferred to attack with torpedo bombers on July 6. Unluckily again, one of the torpedoes hit a small patrol ship carrying depth charges which was moored alongside Dunkerque
. The explosion of the depth charges ripped an enormous hole in the battleship's hull, killing a further 200 sailors, and Dunkerque
sank in shallow water.
Strasbourg
, in 1941, as the flag ship of a so-called High Seas Force, as she nearly never went to sea, received an early French radar device. In February 1942 having been summarily repaired, Dunkerque
returned under her own steam to Toulon, where she was dry-docked.
Both ships, Dunkerque
and Strasbourg
, under Vichy
control, were scuttled
at Toulon, on November 27, 1942, when the Germans attempted to seize the Vichy
fleet, after the Wehrmacht
had occupied the Zone libre
in retaliation for the successful Allied landings
in North Africa.
Strasbourg
having been salvaged by the Italians and partly dismantled, was returned by the Germans to the Vichy
authorities, after the Armistice between the Allies and Italy. On August 18, 1944, she was bombed and sunk by U.S. Air Force aircraft, as the Allied forces, having landed three days previously, advanced to liberate Toulon. Dunkerque
was left in a very decrepit condition, and she and Strasbourg
in her wrecked state, were scrapped post war.
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
built during the 1930s, labeled as 'fast battleship
Fast battleship
Historically, a fast battleship was a battleship which emphasized speed without - in concept - undo compromise of either armor or armament. The term is especially appropriate when applied to a design which was not only faster than the preceding battleship class, but faster than subsequent classes...
s'. Not as large as other contemporary battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, they were designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland
Deutschland class cruiser
The Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
class. They had a specific main artillery arrangement, with two quadruple 330 mm
330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun
The 330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy.The built-up gun was carried by the Dunkerque class fast battleships, in quadruple turrets inspired by those intended for the Normandie class. They had one of the longest range, while firing quite powerful projectiles: APC -...
turrets forward. They saw war service, first giving chase, with the Royal Navy, to the German warships attacking commercial maritime routes. Later, after the 1940 British attack on Mers-el-Kébir, they stayed, under the Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
regime control, in the Mediterranean French harbours, and were both scuttled
Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon
The French fleet in Toulon was scuttled on 27 November 1942 on the order of the Admiralty of Vichy France to avoid capture by Nazi German forces during Operation Lila of the Case Anton takeover of Vichy France.- Context :...
in Toulon, in November 1942.
The Washington Treaty and its consequences
In 1922, the Washington Naval ConferenceWashington Naval Conference
The Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington from 12 November 1921 to 6 February 1922. Conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations...
, concluded by the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
, decided to stop, for ten years, any new battleship building, as a new naval armaments race was developing, between the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Japan, building or projecting respectively the Colorado
Colorado class battleship
The Colorado class battleships was a group of four battleships built by the United States Navy after World War I. However, only three of the ships were completed: , , and . The fourth, , was over 75% completed when she was canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922...
and South Dakota
South Dakota class battleship (1920)
The first South Dakota class was a class of six battleships, laid down in 1920 but never completed. These battleships would have been the last dreadnoughts to be commissioned, if the Washington Naval Treaty not caused their cancellation one-third of the way through their construction, they would...
class battleships, and the Lexington
Lexington class battlecruiser
The Lexington-class battlecruisers were the only class of battlecruiser to ever be ordered by the United States Navy.The Lexington class were the only class of U.S. Navy ships to be officially referred to as battlecruisers. The World War II-era , officially classified as "large cruisers", but some...
class battle cruisers, the G3
G3 battlecruiser
The G3 battlecruisers were a class of battlecruisers planned by the Royal Navy after the end of World War I in response to naval expansion programs by the United States and Japan. The four ships of this class would have been larger, faster and more heavily-armed than any existing battleship...
battlecruisers, the Mutsu
Japanese battleship Mutsu
thumb|right|300px|Mutsu shortly after commissioning in c. 1922Mutsu , named after Mutsu Province, as per Japanese ship naming conventions, was the Imperial Japanese Navy's second Nagato class battleship...
class and Tosa
Tosa class battleship
The The ships are sometimes referred to as the Kaga class, after the ship that was planned to have been completed first. battleships, known as Design A-127 during early planning, was an Imperial Japanese Navy dreadnought class planned as part of the "Eight-Eight" fleet...
class battleships and Amagi
Amagi class battlecruiser
The was a series of four battlecruisers planned for the Imperial Japanese Navy as part of the so-called Eight-eight fleet. The ships were to be named Amagi, , Atago, and Takao; the first three were named for mountains , while the fourth was named for the town of Takao, Formosa...
class battlecruisers. The Treaty fixed for battleships to be built, the limits of 35,000 tons for standard displacement, and 406 mm (16-inches) for the main artillery calibre, and allowed the United States to complete three Colorado
USS Colorado (BB-45)
USS Colorado , the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 38th state, was the lead ship of her class of battleships. Her keel was laid down on 29 May 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey. She was launched on 22 March 1921 sponsored by Mrs. Max...
class battleships, Japan to complete two Mutsu
Japanese battleship Mutsu
thumb|right|300px|Mutsu shortly after commissioning in c. 1922Mutsu , named after Mutsu Province, as per Japanese ship naming conventions, was the Imperial Japanese Navy's second Nagato class battleship...
class battleships, and the United Kingdom to build two battleships, respecting the limits fixed by the Treaty. France and Italy each were also allowed to replace, after 1927, two of their old battleships.
Germany was not subject to the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty limitations, but to specific stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, and was forbidden to build any warship with a displacement greater than 10,000 tons
Long ton
Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
.
This limit was less than the seize of the HMS Minotaur
Minotaur class cruiser (1906)
The Minotaur class was a three-ship class of armoured cruiser built around 1906 for the Royal Navy. They served during World War I, with all three being present at the Battle of Jutland, where HMS Defence was sunk. The surviving ships were scrapped postwar.-History:The Minotaur class was the last...
armoured cruiser class, or of the SMS Schleswig-Holstein
Deutschland class battleship
The Deutschland class was a group of five pre-dreadnought battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine. The class comprised , , , , and . Built between 1903 and 1908, the ships closely resembled those of the preceding , though they had stronger armor protection...
pre-dreadnought, all built before 1910.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan have used their rights resulting from the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty, but neither France not Italy, due mainly to financial difficulties, but also because, even in naval circles, the interest of building battleships seemed very questionable, as no decisive victory had resulted from a cataclysmic clash between battleships, since the American victories of Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba, during the Spanish-American war
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
and the Japanese victory of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
, more than 24 and 17 years earlier.
The W W I experience had clearly shown the problem of ensuring the safety of maritime commercial roads, for which cruisers appeared better suited than battleships, so by the late 1920s, all the countries which had signed the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty undertook the building of new heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
classes.
So, in the late 1920s, the most powerful battleships had been designed before the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty, and were armed with four double turrets of 15-inches (381 mm)(Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth class battleship
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England...
, and Revenge
Revenge class battleship
The Revenge class battleships were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916...
classes, and HMS Hood
Admiral class battlecruiser
The Admiral-class battlecruisers were a class of four British Royal Navy battlecruisers designed near the end of World War I. Their design began as a improved version of the s, but it was recast as a battlecruiser after Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, pointed out that there was...
), or 16-inches caliber (406 mm) (Colorado
Colorado class battleship
The Colorado class battleships was a group of four battleships built by the United States Navy after World War I. However, only three of the ships were completed: , , and . The fourth, , was over 75% completed when she was canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922...
, and Nagato
Nagato class battleship
The were two battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The name Nagato comes from the Nagato province. They were the first battleships to be built entirely in Japan...
classes). The Nelson
Nelson class battleship
The Nelson class was a class of two battleships of the British Royal Navy, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922...
class battleships themselves, built between 1922-1927, with three triple 16-inches turrets forward, were based on 1921 G3
G3 battlecruiser
The G3 battlecruisers were a class of battlecruisers planned by the Royal Navy after the end of World War I in response to naval expansion programs by the United States and Japan. The four ships of this class would have been larger, faster and more heavily-armed than any existing battleship...
battlecruiser concept. The top speed was, for most of them, of 21–24 knots (Revenge
Revenge class battleship
The Revenge class battleships were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916...
, Colorado
Colorado class battleship
The Colorado class battleships was a group of four battleships built by the United States Navy after World War I. However, only three of the ships were completed: , , and . The fourth, , was over 75% completed when she was canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922...
, Nelson
Nelson class battleship
The Nelson class was a class of two battleships of the British Royal Navy, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922...
, Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth class battleship
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England...
battleship classes), for a few ones of 27 knots (Nagato
Nagato class battleship
The were two battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The name Nagato comes from the Nagato province. They were the first battleships to be built entirely in Japan...
class battleships), with the notable exception, in Western waters, of the HMS Hood
Admiral class battlecruiser
The Admiral-class battlecruisers were a class of four British Royal Navy battlecruisers designed near the end of World War I. Their design began as a improved version of the s, but it was recast as a battlecruiser after Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, pointed out that there was...
fast battleship, and the two Renown
Renown class battlecruiser
The Renown class consisted of a pair of battlecruisers built during the First World War for the Royal Navy. They were originally laid down as improved versions of the s. Their construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds they would not be ready in a timely manner...
class battlecruisers, whose speed exceeded 30 knots.
The battleship of 17,500 tons and the battlecruiser of 37,000 tx
The French Admiralty, under Vice Admiral SalaünHenri Salaun
Henri Raoul Marie Salaun is a French-born American hardball squash player . He played high school squash at Deerfield Academy before playing college squash at Wesleyan University...
, discussed, in 1926-1927, of ships designed as «cruiser killers», able to outgun and outrun the Italian heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s, which were considered as the main threat against the maritime liaisons between France and North Africa, and the first unit built, Trento
Trento class cruiser
The Trento class was an Italian heavy cruiser design of the Regia Marina from the late 1920s. The three ships of the class were named after the three unredeemed cities taken from the Austro-Hungarian empire after the victory in World War I, Trento, Trieste, and Bolzano.The Trentos were the first...
, had been laid down in 1925, and launched in 1926. The French designers considered a displacement of 17,500 tons which would have allowed to build four units, respecting the maximum limit of 70,000 tons, which the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty had fixed for the replacements authorized for France. An artillery arrangement of two 305 mm (12-inches) quadruple turrets forward was examined, combining the choice of quadruple turrets made by the French designers of the Normandie
Normandie class battleship
The Normandie-class dreadnought battleships were ordered for the French Navy before the First World War. They were named after provinces of France. These ships were never completed as battleships because the war stopped their construction...
and Lyon
Lyon class battleship
The Lyon was a class of battleship which was planned for the French Navy, beginning in 1914. However, construction was halted and then cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I. No ship of the Lyon type was laid down.-Design:...
battleship classes and the «all forward» arrangement of the Nelson
Nelson class battleship
The Nelson class was a class of two battleships of the British Royal Navy, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922...
battleship class. The speed would have been of 34-35 knots, the armor able to resist to 203 mm shells. But, finally, such warships would not have been able to fight in the battle line against the old Italian battleships.
In 1927, studies were undertaken of ships designed as battlecruisers of 37,000 tons. A «trial» displacement of 37,000 tons would have been the equivalent of a «standard» Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
displacement of 32-33,000 tons, near the maximum limit for battleship displacement fixed by the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty. Two variants of draft drawings have been found. Both show warships, up-scaled versions from the Suffren
French cruiser Suffren
The Suffren was a heavy cruiser of the French Navy, the name ship of the four-ship Suffren class. Launched in 1927, she was named for the 18th-century French admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, becoming the sixth vessel to bear the name Suffren.-World War II:In early June 1940, at the...
cruiser class, with a tripod foremast with the fire control director for the main guns atop, and two ranked funnels, the main artillery in three turrets, two fore and one aft, a secondary artillery of quad turrets of 130 mm against ships, eight single 90 mm Mle 1926 HA guns, twelve 37 mm Mle 1925 single AA mountings, and triple torpedo tubes. The aircraft installations would have taken place in the center of the ship, with a hangar after the bridge structure and two catapults abeam the second funnel. The propulsion machinery would have been constituted of two groups of boilers and turbines, as on the French cruiser Duquesne
French cruiser Duquesne
The Duquesne was a French Duquesne class heavy cruiser that served during World War II.After her launch, she was used on prestige missions.In January 1940, she took part in the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee, and later returned to Alexandria...
.
The 1927-1928 first variants would have had a main artillery of quad turrets of 305 mm, three quad 130 mm turrets, an armored belt of 220-280 mm thickness, and twelve Guyot-du-Temple boilers, developping 180,000 hp for a speed of 33 knots, with a hull of 254 m length, and 30.5 m beam. The 1928 second variant would have been rather a «fast battleship» than a battlecruiser, with a main artillery of three twin turrets of 406 mm, four quad 130 mm turrets, a shorter hull (235 m), with a sligthly broader beam (31 m), a thicker armor, and only two thirds of the power of the 33-knots ship, for a speed of 27 knots.
If there were some graving docks, as Brest Laninon docks, or Toulon Vauban grands bassins, completed in 1927, or Bizerta Sidi Abdallah dock, where it was possible to accomodate hulls of more of 250 m length, there were no Navy building docks to build such hulls, the Brest Salou n°4 dock was only 200 m long. In civil shipbuilding yards, only one liner, SS Île de France
SS Ile de France
The SS Ile de France was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. The ship was the first major ocean liner built after the conclusion of World War I and was the first liner ever to be decorated entirely with designs associated with the Art Deco...
, 247 m long, whose maiden voyage occurred in 1927, had been built, in the Saint-Nazaire Penhoët yards. So, the building of 35,000 tons battleships was clarly outpassing the technical and financial capacities of the French Navy, as the building costs of the infrastructures would have been equivalent of those of two more battleships, and would have jeopardized the bulding programme of the other categorizes of warships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines.
Moreover, in the same time, discussions at the Disarmement Subcommitee of the League of Nations had begun in Geneva, about the pursuit of naval armaments limitation policy. The United Kingdom was trying to obtain more drastic limitations than those of the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty, as 25,000 tons for battleship maximum displacement, and 305 mm for battleship maximum caliber, and the Frenh Government did not wanted to jeopardize these negociations.
The Service Technique des Constructions Navales (S.T.C.N.), French equivalent of the Department of Director of Naval Construction, studied in 1929, on the request of Vice Admiral Violette
Chief of Staff of the French Navy
thumb|Admiral Pierre-François Forissier, CEMMThe Chief of the Staff of the French Navy is the head of the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of Defence for its preparation and deployment.As a naval expert, he assists:...
who has become Chief of Staff of the French Navy
Chief of Staff of the French Navy
thumb|Admiral Pierre-François Forissier, CEMMThe Chief of the Staff of the French Navy is the head of the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of Defence for its preparation and deployment.As a naval expert, he assists:...
in 1928, the concept of a «protected cruiser», with a displacement of 23,690 tons, three 305 mm turrets, one triple and one quad fore, one triple aft, four twin 138 mm mountings, caliber used on the most recent destroyers, eight double turrets of 100 mm AA, as on the last heavy cruiser, Algérie
French cruiser Algérie
The Algérie was a French heavy cruiser that served during the early years of World War II. She was built in response to the Italian Zara class cruisers, incorporating better armour than previous French cruisers....
. The speed would have been of 29 knots, and the armor able to resist only to 203 mm shells. But the general layout is interesting, as it is no more reminiscent of the cruiser Suffren
French cruiser Suffren
The Suffren was a heavy cruiser of the French Navy, the name ship of the four-ship Suffren class. Launched in 1927, she was named for the 18th-century French admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, becoming the sixth vessel to bear the name Suffren.-World War II:In early June 1940, at the...
, but of the latter cruiser Algérie
French cruiser Algérie
The Algérie was a French heavy cruiser that served during the early years of World War II. She was built in response to the Italian Zara class cruisers, incorporating better armour than previous French cruisers....
, with a distinctive forward tower and a single funnel well abaft the forward tower, anticipating the profile of the latter Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
.
The retort to the German «pocket battleship» : the battleship of 23,000 tons
Everything changed when, in February 1929, the German ReichsmarineReichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
laid down the keel of Deutschland
Deutschland class cruiser
The Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
, an «armoured ship» (in German Panzerschiffe), of 10,000 tons displacement, respecting formally the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, actually at least 25 % heavier but this was not known at this moment. With two 280 mm
28 cm SK C/28 naval gun
The German 28 cm C/28 naval gun was a 283 mm 52-caliber built-up gun designed in 1928 used on the Deutschland class "pocket battleships".-History:-Characteristics:...
(11-inches) caliber triple turrets, and a speed of 26 knots, this ship outgunned every so-called heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
with their 203 mm (8 inches) guns intended to respect the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty limitations concerning the caliber of cruiser main artillery, and outran every battleship, except the three fastest British units, HMS Hood
Admiral class battlecruiser
The Admiral-class battlecruisers were a class of four British Royal Navy battlecruisers designed near the end of World War I. Their design began as a improved version of the s, but it was recast as a battlecruiser after Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, pointed out that there was...
, HMS Renown
Renown class battlecruiser
The Renown class consisted of a pair of battlecruisers built during the First World War for the Royal Navy. They were originally laid down as improved versions of the s. Their construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds they would not be ready in a timely manner...
and HMS Repulse
HMS Repulse (1916)
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
.
The type of Deutschland
Deutschland class cruiser
The Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
was commonly designated as a «pocket battleship», being actually as her German denomination indicated well, an «armoured cruiser». The use of welding instead of riveting for the hull, in order to save weight, the diesel propulsion, which assured a longer radius, and the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, without a caliber limit, have enabled the Reichsmarine to build a warship that most experts thought inconceavable, and which revealed itself as a dreadful threat for the commercial maritime roads in Eastern Atlantic.
The reaction of the French Admiralty was to prepare draft drawings for a ship which would outclass the German "pocket battleship", in armament, armor and speed. It appeared that the armament of the French previous projects might be retained, that the speed might be of 30 knots, and not necessarily superior, but the most important feature was that the armor had to be thicker to resist to 280 mm shells. These considerations were leading to a displacement of about 23,000 to 25,000 tons, which fits the maximum displacement that the United Kingdom found suitable in the naval armament limitations negociations.
The 1930 London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
decided that the ten-years «battleship holiday» agreed at Wahington would be extended for further five years, until 1936, December 31. France and Italy may, however,build the remplacement tonnage which they were entitled to lay down in 1927 and 1929 in accordance with the provisions of the Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
Treaty. Nevertheless, France and Italy refused to adhere to every other qualitative limitations, which were mainly concerning cruisers. France argued that ship construction had just started in Germany of the armour-clad Deutschland
Deutschland class cruiser
The Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
, and following the rejection of the agreement by France, Italy was no longer prepared to accept new restrictions.
In order to establish an agreed ceiling to new naval construction, bilateral talks took place between France and Italy, with the great encouragement of the United Kingdom, at the very beginning of 1931, and a «basis of agreement» was concluded on March 1. Up to 1936, both countries would have been allowed to build only two battleships each of 23,333 tons. But it was not possible to go further, as the Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
was not satisfied of the 23,333 tons battleship Italian project, with three twin 381 mm turrets, and a profile reminiscent of the heavy cruiserPola
Italian cruiser Pola
The Pola was a Zara class heavy cruiser of the Italian Regia Marina. She was built in the OTO shipyard at Livorno and entered service in 1932...
, then in construction: a very complete refit of the artillery and power plant of the Conte di Cavour
Conte di Cavour class battleship
The Conte di Cavour class was a battleship class of the Regia Marina in World War I and World War II.-Design:This class was the second group of dreadnoughts in the Regia Marina. The ships were designed by Admiral Edoardo Masdea....
battleships class will begin in 1933, and the studies on the 35,000 tons will be going on.
However, in 1931, the French Admiralty explicitely confirms the choice of the battleship of 23,333 tons, as the battleship of 17,500 tons would have been too lightly armored, and the battleship of 35,000 tons would have required technical and financial capacities that outranged the possibilities of France. This battleship of 23,333 tons would have had a 213 m lenght, with a 27.5 m beam, two quad 305 mm/55 cal turrets forward, three quad 130 mm turrets Dual Purpose aft, a speed of 30 knots, an armored belt of 230 mm, and an horizontal protection of 150 mm. But when this proposal was submitted to the Parliament, in May, the discussion lasted two months, with much criticism, as it was difficult to understand why it was necessary to have a displacement double of the warship which was to be countered, and why it was not preferable to build a 35000 tons battleship. So, in the 1931 Estimates, in July, funds were allocated only for further studies, with the proviso that the final characteristics should be subject to a thorough revision, the results of which would have to be submitted to the Parliament, before passing any building orders. Then, Vice Admiral Durand-Viel
Chief of Staff of the French Navy
thumb|Admiral Pierre-François Forissier, CEMMThe Chief of the Staff of the French Navy is the head of the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of Defence for its preparation and deployment.As a naval expert, he assists:...
, the new Chief of Staff of the French Navy
Chief of Staff of the French Navy
thumb|Admiral Pierre-François Forissier, CEMMThe Chief of the Staff of the French Navy is the head of the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of Defence for its preparation and deployment.As a naval expert, he assists:...
from 1931 January, requested further studies for upgrading the main artillery caliber, from305 mm to 330 mm, to outgun the old Italian battleships.
This resulted to an increase in displacement to 26,500 tons, a 2-meter increase in lenght, a 2.5-meter increase in beam, a slight reduction in maximum speed to 29.5 knots, the substitution of 330 mm/52 guns to 305 mm/55 ones, two more double 130 mm DP turrets, ans a slight increase of the armor, in the armored belt, as on the armored decks In early 1932, the project was approved by the Parliamentary commitees, and the Minister of Defence, François Pietri
François Piétri
François Piétri was a minister in several governments in the later years of the French Third Republic and was French ambassador to Spain from 1940 to 1944 under the Vichy regime....
, succeeded to include it in the 1932 Estimates. So emerged the Dunkerque., which was ordered on October 26, and laid down on December 24.
On February 14, 1934, two German battleships (or battlecruisers) were ordered. Gneisenau
Scharnhorst class battleship
The Scharnhorst class were the first capital ships, alternatively referred to as battlecruisers or battleships, built for the German Navy after World War I. The class comprised two vessels: the lead ship Scharnhorst and Gneisenau...
was laid down on May 6, 1935, and Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst class battleship
The Scharnhorst class were the first capital ships, alternatively referred to as battlecruisers or battleships, built for the German Navy after World War I. The class comprised two vessels: the lead ship Scharnhorst and Gneisenau...
, on June 15, 1935. They were heavier than the Dunkerque class battleships, better armoured, but armed with nine 280 mm guns, the same caliber as the Deutschland
Deutschland class cruiser
The Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
class. A heavier caliber had been considered for the main artillery, and was preferred by Adolf Hitler, as the Dunkerque class battleships were armed with 330 mm
330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun
The 330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy.The built-up gun was carried by the Dunkerque class fast battleships, in quadruple turrets inspired by those intended for the Normandie class. They had one of the longest range, while firing quite powerful projectiles: APC -...
guns. But when the final design of these ships was about to be settled, Germany was negotiating the 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement
Anglo-German Naval Agreement
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement of June 18, 1935 was a bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and German Reich regulating the size of the Kriegsmarine in relation to the Royal Navy. The A.G.N.A fixed a ratio whereby the total tonnage of the Kriegsmarine was to be 35% of the total tonnage...
, and the British Government was pressing very strongly for a limitation on the battleship main artillery caliber. So reluctantly, an improved 280 mm gun, with longer barrel, higher muzzle velocity, but the same 280 mm caliber was chosen.
As the French Navy ship designers believed that Dunkerque class battleships' armor was able to resist to 280 mm caliber shells, there would not have been any necessity to conceive an heavier battleship class. But Duce Benito Mussolini announced, on May 26, 1934, the decision of Italy to fully use the right of building battleships as they were resulting of the naval limitations treaties. Some days later, the Stefani news agency announced the laying down of two battleships of 35,000 tons, the first ones since the Treaty of Washington
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
which received in October the names of Littorio
Italian battleship Littorio
|-External links:...
and Vittorio Veneto
Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto
Vittorio Veneto was the lead ship of her class of battleships that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after the Italian victory at Vittorio Veneto, during World War I.-Construction:...
.
The time had occurred to build the first French 35 000 tons battleship. But time was missing to achieve a design for new heavier battleships class, with new plans, the development, ordering and manufacture of new guns and machinery : the French Navy Board recommended, on June 25 to proceed as planned, ordering a second Dunkerque, with some increase of her vertical armor. The order for Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
was placed on July 16 and she was laid down on November.
Design
The design was very innovative, notably the whole of the main armament mounted forwards. This had been the case for the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's Nelson
Nelson class battleship
The Nelson class was a class of two battleships of the British Royal Navy, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922...
class battleships but they had three turrets carrying nine guns and the angles of fire for the rearmost were limited by the turret in front. The Dunkerques used two quadruple 330 mm
330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun
The 330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy.The built-up gun was carried by the Dunkerque class fast battleships, in quadruple turrets inspired by those intended for the Normandie class. They had one of the longest range, while firing quite powerful projectiles: APC -...
turrets which gave unrestricted forwards fire. In the context of the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
which limited the upper displacement of ships, the quadruple arrangement had the advantage of saving weight on turret armouring, compared to four double turrets, while retaining the same firepower. The drawback was that a single lucky shot immobilising one of the turrets would effectively put half the main artillery out of action. So the French quadruple turrets of both Dunkerque and Richelieu class battleships, were divided internally to localise damage, and in order to avoid that one unlucky hit damages both turrets together, they were positioned 27 m apart from one another. On the other hand, the entirety of the main artillery was able to fire forwards, as the ship closed in to her enemy, in an angle where she made the smallest possible target.
The mounting of all the main armament in quadruple turrets was a feature unique to the last French battleships design. The quadruple arrangement had been proposed for the unbuilt Normandie
Normandie class battleship
The Normandie-class dreadnought battleships were ordered for the French Navy before the First World War. They were named after provinces of France. These ships were never completed as battleships because the war stopped their construction...
and Lyon
Lyon class battleship
The Lyon was a class of battleship which was planned for the French Navy, beginning in 1914. However, construction was halted and then cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I. No ship of the Lyon type was laid down.-Design:...
class battleships, just before World War I. Combined with an all forward disposition, it was found also on the subsequent Richelieu
French battleship Richelieu (1939)
The Richelieu was a battleship of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She served during World War II, on the Vichy Regime side, notably fending off an Allied attempt on Dakar, and later with Allied forces in the Indian Ocean in 1944 and 1945...
and Jean Bart
French battleship Jean Bart (1940)
The Jean Bart was a French battleship of World War II named for the seventeenth-century seaman, privateer, and corsair Jean Bart.Derived from the Dunkerque class, Jean Bart were designed to counter the threat of the heavy ships of the Italian Navy...
. But in the French quadruple turrets, the four barrels were not mounted independently in individual mounts because this would have meant an unduly large barbette diameter. For that reason the right and left hand pair of barrels where placed in a common mount each. It was not the case on the fore and aft 14-inches quadruple turrets of the British HMS King George V
King George V class battleship
Two classes of battleship of the Royal Navy are known as the King George V class:* King George V class of four battleships that served in World War I...
class battleships.
The guns of the half turrets were so close, that a wake effect between shells fired simultaneously by a half turret led to an excessive dispersal, which was not corrected before 1948 on the Richelieu
French battleship Richelieu (1939)
The Richelieu was a battleship of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She served during World War II, on the Vichy Regime side, notably fending off an Allied attempt on Dakar, and later with Allied forces in the Indian Ocean in 1944 and 1945...
class battleships.
The secondary artillery was, for the first time on French battleships, a dual purpose one, anti-ship and long-range anti-aircraft, with five turrets of 130 mm caliber, three quadruple armoured turrets aft, with the same two dual mountings as the 330 mm turrets, and two double lightly armoured turrets, beside the central superstructure. But these guns had a too weak caliber for their anti-ship mission, and a poor efficiency as anti-aircraft artillery against close rapid aircraft, as dive bombers, due to a too slow rate of fire (10 shots per min). With five 37mm AA double mountings and eight 13,7 mm quadritube machine-guns, these ships lacked the numerous quick-firing light artillery as it was mounted on the Richelieu, during her refit.
A massive fore control tower was, for the first time, fitted with a internal lift, and topped by three range finders mounted on the same axis. The accumulation of heavy weights high up in the top (85 tons) was noteworthy. A secondary control tower, topped by two range finders, was positioned between the funnel and the aircraft installations (hangar, catapult and crane), fitted to launch three or four seaplanes.
The proportion of armour on the Dunkerque relative to the design displacement reached 35.9%, which was the highest percentage recorded until then. The armour protection of the class was also very modern, as it used the "all or nothing" armour scheme, unlike contemporary German warships. The citadel about 126 m long corresponded to about 60% of the ship's length, but left unprotected a long forward part of the ship. The belt armour was designed to withstand the 280 mm German naval guns. The armoured protection was further increased on Strasbourg, upon the recommendation of the Navy Higher Council; the protection weight was increased by 749 tons, and the proportion of armour relative to displacement reached 37.3%.
The propulsion was assured by six Indret boilers, and four Parsons
Charles Algernon Parsons
Sir Charles Algernon Parsons OM KCB FRS was an Anglo-Irish engineer, best known for his invention of the steam turbine. He worked as an engineer on dynamo and turbine design, and power generation, with great influence on the naval and electrical engineering fields...
turbines, with four shafts, for a speed of 29.5 knots, with 112,500 hp. During the speed trials, by May 1936 fo the Dunkerque, and July 1938 for the Strasbourg, the top speed of 31 knots has been reached during two hours, with a developed power of 132,000 hp. The radius was 7,850 nmi at 15 knots, and 2,150 nmi at 28 knots.
During the sea trials, it appeared that the funnel smoke interfered with the use of the aft control tower range finders, so both ships were fitted, in 1938, with a more important funnel cap, nicknamed as a "bowler hat". War service showed that the ships' bows suffered damage in the rough seas of the North Atlantic winter, one of their Flag Officers speaking dedaignously of "hull from trying carene pool". The German Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst class battleship
The Scharnhorst class were the first capital ships, alternatively referred to as battlecruisers or battleships, built for the German Navy after World War I. The class comprised two vessels: the lead ship Scharnhorst and Gneisenau...
class battleships had the same problem, particularly during the winter 1939-40, even after they had been fitted with a reinforced "Atlantic bow" in 1938-39.
The Dunkerque class battleships seemed to have been relatively lightly built, and suffered damage from the blast, the noise, the smoke and the recoil of her own 330 mm
330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun
The 330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy.The built-up gun was carried by the Dunkerque class fast battleships, in quadruple turrets inspired by those intended for the Normandie class. They had one of the longest range, while firing quite powerful projectiles: APC -...
guns firing, and as noted above, the excessive closeness of the barrels of the two pairs of one quadruple turret caused an excessive dispersal of the shells of the same salvo.
The Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
had a fore tower silhouette slightly different, integrating the conning tower and the bridge installations, raising one of the range finders from the roof of the conning tower to the top of the topmost turret mast gallery.
Service
During the Phoney War, DunkerqueFrench battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
and Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
participated with British forces to the safety of commercial maritime roads. From October to December 1939, they tried unsuccessfully to give chase to German surface raiders, Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
with HMS Hood
HMS Hood (51)
HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be...
against Scharnhost
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
and Gneisenau
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
, Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
with HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes (95)
HMS Hermes was an aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy. The ship was begun during World War I and finished after the war ended. She was the world's first ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's was the first to be commissioned...
aircraft carrier against Admiral Graf Spee
Deutschland class cruiser
The Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
. After this operation, 800 powder charges from Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
remained stored in Dakar. This powder was, during the battle of Dakar
Battle of Dakar
The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...
, used for Richelieu and was wrongly incrimininated in the explosion of Richelieu upper turret 380 mm barrels. Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
, on December 1939, took part in the shipping to Canada of a part of the Banque de France
Banque de France
The Banque de France is the central bank of France; it is linked to the European Central Bank . Its main charge is to implement the interest rate policy of the European System of Central Banks...
's gold reserve.
From 1939, Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
and Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
, cruisers and large destroyers formed a fast warships naval force, called Force de Raid
Force de Raid
The Force de Raid was a French naval unit based at Brest until 1940. It included some of the most modern capital ships of its day organised into two squadrons, commanded at the outbreak of World War II by Vice Amiral Marcel Gensoul...
. Based in Brest, Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
was its flagship. In light of the dubious Italian attitude during the spring 1940, the Force de Raid
Force de Raid
The Force de Raid was a French naval unit based at Brest until 1940. It included some of the most modern capital ships of its day organised into two squadrons, commanded at the outbreak of World War II by Vice Amiral Marcel Gensoul...
was permanently transferred to the Mediterranean Sea in late April 1940.
The only test in battle for Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
and Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
came in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, after the fall of France, on July 3, 1940, from the Force H
Force H
Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940 to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean that had been removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany....
battleships, HMS Hood
Admiral class battlecruiser
The Admiral-class battlecruisers were a class of four British Royal Navy battlecruisers designed near the end of World War I. Their design began as a improved version of the s, but it was recast as a battlecruiser after Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, pointed out that there was...
, HMS Revenge
Revenge class battleship
The Revenge class battleships were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916...
, and HMS Valiant
Queen Elizabeth class battleship
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England...
which they had not been designed to fight against.
Luckily escaping the 15 inches (381 mm) shells of the British guns and the pursuit by HMS Hood
Admiral class battlecruiser
The Admiral-class battlecruisers were a class of four British Royal Navy battlecruisers designed near the end of World War I. Their design began as a improved version of the s, but it was recast as a battlecruiser after Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, pointed out that there was...
and Fairey Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
torpedo bombers of HMS Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (91)
HMS Ark Royal was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War.Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark Royal was built by Cammell Laird and Company, Ltd. at Birkenhead, England, and completed in November 1938. Her design...
, Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
and her destroyers escort reached Toulon, in the evening of the following day. As the old super-dreadnought Bretagne
French battleship Bretagne
The Bretagne was a battleship of the French Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was named in honour of the French region of Brittany, and was built by Arsenal de Brest...
capsized and sank, killing nearly 1,000 sailors, Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
suffered four 15 inch shell hits, the first rebouncing on the upper 330 mm
330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun
The 330mm/50 Modèle 1931 gun was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy.The built-up gun was carried by the Dunkerque class fast battleships, in quadruple turrets inspired by those intended for the Normandie class. They had one of the longest range, while firing quite powerful projectiles: APC -...
turret roof, killing all the men in the right half turret, the second damaging the aircraft installations, the last ones damaging boilers and destroying the electric power plant, so the ship had to be moored on the other side of Mers-el-Kebir roadsteadThe damage was not as deadly as might have been feared, because the British fire ceased after less than fifteen minutes, the French admiral having signaled that he had ordered his ships to cease firing. So Admiral Esteva, C. in C. the French Navy in North Africa, told in a later radio message to the French Admiralty, of "moderate" damages.
Knowing this, the British Admiralty ordered Admiral Sommerville
James Somerville
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville GCB, GBE, DSO was one of the most famous British Admirals of World War II.-Early career:...
, Force H
Force H
Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940 to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean that had been removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany....
Flag Officer, to attack again, to put Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
permanently out of action. Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
being beached just in front of a village, Admiral Sommerville, fearing that gun fire might cause serious collateral damages to civilians, preferred to attack with torpedo bombers on July 6. Unluckily again, one of the torpedoes hit a small patrol ship carrying depth charges which was moored alongside Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
. The explosion of the depth charges ripped an enormous hole in the battleship's hull, killing a further 200 sailors, and Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
sank in shallow water.
Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
, in 1941, as the flag ship of a so-called High Seas Force, as she nearly never went to sea, received an early French radar device. In February 1942 having been summarily repaired, Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
returned under her own steam to Toulon, where she was dry-docked.
Both ships, Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
and Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
, under Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
control, were scuttled
Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon
The French fleet in Toulon was scuttled on 27 November 1942 on the order of the Admiralty of Vichy France to avoid capture by Nazi German forces during Operation Lila of the Case Anton takeover of Vichy France.- Context :...
at Toulon, on November 27, 1942, when the Germans attempted to seize the Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
fleet, after the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
had occupied the Zone libre
Zone libre
The zone libre was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during the Second World War, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on June 22, 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered by the French government of Marshal Philippe Pétain based in Vichy,...
in retaliation for the successful Allied landings
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
in North Africa.
Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
having been salvaged by the Italians and partly dismantled, was returned by the Germans to the Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
authorities, after the Armistice between the Allies and Italy. On August 18, 1944, she was bombed and sunk by U.S. Air Force aircraft, as the Allied forces, having landed three days previously, advanced to liberate Toulon. Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
was left in a very decrepit condition, and she and Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
in her wrecked state, were scrapped post war.