Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	24 December 1932
Launched:	2 October 1935
Commissioned:	1 May 1937
Fate:	Scuttled
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	36,380 tonnes
Length:	215.1 m
Beam:	8.7 m
Width:	31.1 m
Propulsion:	6 Indret boilers 4 Rateau geared turbines 135,585 hp
Speed:	trial: 31,06 knots (design 29.5 kts)
Range:	7.500 nm at 15 kts
Complement:	1381
Armament:	2 quadruple 330 mm turrets 3 quadruple and 2 double 130 mm AA turrets 5 double 37 mm AA turrets 4 double mm AA turrets
Armour	225 mm (side belt) 30 mm (anti-torpedo bulkheads) 125-115 mm (deck) 330/310 mm (turrets)
Aircraft	4 floatplanes 1 catapult
Motto:

The Dunkerque was the first of a new type of warship of the French Navy, labeled as "fast battleship". Not quite the size of a full battleship, they were designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland class. The design was very innovative. The whole of the main armament was mounted forward. This had been the case for the Royal Navy'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 Dunkerque used two quadruple turrets which gave unrestricted fire. The mounting of all the armament in quadruple turrets was a feature unique to the late design French battleships, and was also found on the subsequent Richelieu and Jean Bart. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (660x1208, 79 KB) French battleships / battlecruiser Strasbourg, Musée de le Marine de Paris Photograph by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: French battleship Dunkerque ... French Navy jack and ensign. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... The French Navy (Marine Nationale) is the maritime arm of the French military and is the second-largest Western European navy (the largest being the United Kingdoms Royal Navy). ... HMS Victory in 1884 Battleship was the name given to the most powerfully gun-armed and most heavily armored warships between the 15th and 20th Centuries. ... Pocket battleship is the British Royal Navy description for a class of warships built by German Reichsmarine in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. ... The Deutschland class was a series of three heavy cruisers which served with the Kriegsmarine of Germany during World War II. // Description The Deutschland was designed as a capable battlecruiser within the 10,000 ton limit imposed by the Versaille Treaty on German shipbuilding. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... HMS Nelson For the Battleship class in the Cosmic Era of Gundam, see Nelson class battleship (Gundam) The Nelson class were battleships of the British Royal Navy built shortly following the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922. ... The Richelieu was a French battleship of World War II named for the seventeenth century statesman Cardinal Richelieu. ... The Jean Bart was a French battleship of World War II named for the seventeenth century seaman and corsair Jean Bart. ...

During the Phony War, she was used, along with her sister-ship Strasbourg, to escort convoys. The Phony War, or in Winston Churchills words the Twilight War, was the phase of World War II marked by no military operations in Continental Europe, that followed the collapse of Poland. ... The Strasbourg was a warship of the French Navy, labeled as fast battleship. Larger and more powerful than a mere battlecruiser, yet not a full battleship, they were designed to counter the threat of the German Pocket battleships. ...

After the collapse of France, she was docked in Mers-El-Kebir, along with the Strasbourg; the ships became one of the main objectives of the Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir by the British on the 3 July 1940. The Dunkerque was heavily damaged by the British fleet; three month later, she sustained further attacks by torpedo-bomber aircraft from the Ark Royal. Combatants Allies (France, Britain, Canada, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands) Germany, Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) Strength 144 divisions 13,974 guns 3,384 tanks 3,099... The Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, French North Africa (now Algeria), by the British Royal Navy took place on 3 July 1940. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... HMS Ark Royal (R07) in Greenwich dock, London This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The Dunkerque returned to Toulon for repairs in February 1942, and was still there when the Germans invaded the so-called "Free Zone" on the 27 November 1942. She was scuttled, along with her sister-ship Strasbourg and most of the French Fleet, to avoid capture by the Germans. Location within France Coat of Arms of Toulon Toulon (Tolon in Provençal) is a city in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. ... Presidential flag of Vichy France Vichy France, or the Vichy regime was the de facto French government of 1940-1944 during the Nazi Germany occupation of World War II. Now known in French as the Régime de Vichy or Vichy, during its existence it referred to itself as L... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

External link

• Maritimequest Dunkerque Photo Gallery