The two ships of the class, FS Dunkerque and sister FS Strasbourg, became the first French warships laid down after the close of World War 1 (1918) and the first constructed after the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty. The class' design would also be inspired by the British Royal Navy's Nelson-class (appearing in 1927) which saw fit to install all of the main battery at the forecastle. The group would be of considerable speed and firepower but lack the needed protection scheme in an effort to stay within the restrictions of the 1923 Washington Naval Treaty. Image source: tvd.In response to the rearming German Navy's new Deutschland-class armored cruisers (the "Pocket Battleships") built from 1929 to 1936,the French government authorized the design and construction of a new "fast battleship" class all their own to become the two-strong Dunkerque-class. Her wreck remained in Toulon until she was stricken in 1955, and scrapped three years later. Dunkerque was scuttled in November 1942 to prevent her capture by the Germans, and subsequently seized and partially scrapped by the Italians and later the Germans. The ship was badly damaged during the British attack at Mers-el-Kébir after the Armistice that ended the first phase of France's participation in World War II, but she was refloated and partially repaired to return to Toulon for comprehensive repairs. The two ships searched for German commerce raiders in the early months of the war, and Dunkerque also participated in convoy escort duties. She was armed with a main battery of eight 330mm/50 Modèle 1931 guns arranged in two quadruple gun turrets and had a top speed of 29.5 knots (54.6 km/h 33.9 mph).ĭunkerque and Strasbourg formed the French Navy's 1ère Division de Ligne (1st Division of the Line) prior to the Second World War. Dunkerque was laid down in December 1932, was launched October 1935, and was completed in May 1937. The two ships were the first capital ships to be built by the French Navy after World War I the planned Normandie and Lyon classes had been cancelled at the outbreak of war, and budgetary problems prevented the French from building new battleships in the decade after the war. Dunkerque was the lead ship of the Dunkerque class of battleships built for the French Navy in the 1930s.
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