French battleship Dunkerque

History
France
Namesake	City of Dunkirk
Laid down	24 December 1932
Launched	2 October 1935
Commissioned	1 May 1937
Homeport	Toulon
Fate	Scuttled 27 November 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Dunkerque class battleship
Displacement	26,500 tonnes
Length	215.1 m
Beam	31.1 m
Draught	8.7 m
Propulsion	list error: <br /> list (help); 6 Indret boilers; 4Rateaugearedturbines; 135,585hp
Speed	31 knots
Range	13,900 km
Complement	1381
Armament	list error: <br /> list (help); 8 330mm/50 Modèle 1931 guns in quadruple turrets; 3xquadrupleand2xdouble130mmAAturrets; 5xdouble37mmAAturrets; 4xdoublemmAAturrets;
Armour	list error: <br /> list (help); 225 mm (side belt); 30mm(anti-torpedobulkheads); 125-115mm(deck); 330-310mm(turrets)
Aircraft carried	list error: <br /> list (help); 4 hydroplanes; 1catapult

The Dunkerque was the first of a new class of warship of the French Navy labeled as a "fast battleship".

Not as well-armed and considerably less armoured than contemporary battleships, they are nonetheless considered scaled-down battleships and they are considerably more balanced than battlecruisers. The Dunkerques were superior in all respects to and designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland class, which were in effect scaled-up cruisers.

The design was very innovative, having the entire main armament mounted forward in two quadruple turrets which gave unrestricted forward fire. The Royal Navy's Nelson class battleships also had the entire armament mounted forward, but in three turrets carrying nine guns, with the angles of fire for the rearmost turret limited by the turrets in front. The mounting of the main armament in quadruple turrets was a feature unique to late-design French battleships such as Dunkerque, Richelieu and Jean Bart.

During the Phoney War, Dunkerque was used along with her sister-ship Strasbourg to escort convoys.

After the collapse of France, she was docked in Mers-El-Kebir, along with Strasbourg. The sinking of these ships became one of the main objectives of the British attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir on 3 July 1940. Dunkerque was severely damaged by gunfire during this attack, settling on the bottom of the harbour. Two days later, she sustained further damage by torpedo-bombers from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.

After being refloated and temporary repairs completed, Dunkerque returned to Toulon in February 1942. She was in armistice custody, disarmed and in drydock, when the Germans invaded the so-called "Free Zone" on 27 November 1942. She was scuttled, along with Strasbourg, in the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon. Her commanding officer, Capitaine de vaisseau Amiel, initially refused to sink his ship without written orders, but was finally convinced to do so by the captain of the nearby light cruiser La Galissonnière. Demolition charges were ignited, destroying the ship and setting the wreckage ablaze.