However, the ship survived the hits much better than expected. This was evident in 1940 at Mers-el-Kebir, where the Dunkerque was pierced by British 15-inch (381 mm) shells. The two battlecruisers Dunkerque and Strasbourg had a good speed, but their weak side armour made them second-rate class. The ‘fast battleship’ Dunkerque shortly before its completion in 1936. When it became known that Mussolini had in the meantime ordered two new large battleships for the Italian Navy, funds were made available in July 1934 for the construction of another ship of the class. This arrangement was already used on the British Nelson class battleships, but was planned by the French as early as 1914 for the Normandy class, which was later cancelled.Īt the end of April 1932, the final plans were approved for a single ship known as a battleship Batiment de ligne, not as a battlecruiser Croiseur de Combat. To save weight, the eight main guns were to be mounted in two four-gun turrets at the front of the ship. Under these circumstances, the Conseil Superieur de la Marine drew up plans for a 25,000 tons battlecruiser armed with eight 13-inch (330 mm) guns and with sufficient armor to withstand the 280 mm shells of the German pocket battleships. ![]() This left the French and Italian navies with 70,000 tons each to build three or four more warships. In addition, the British were now of the opinion that the displacement of large battleships should be limited to 25,000 tons, which led to major disagreements among the French over the suitable size for the new ship to be built.Ī bilateral agreement was reached with the Italians that no more than two warships with a maximum of 35,000 tons each would be built for each of the two navies. ![]() After the pocket battleships of the German class had actually appeared, the original French proposal was reconsidered.
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