![]() Richelieu was finished shortly before the French defeat in the Battle of France, while Jean Bart was hurriedly prepared to be ready to go to sea during the campaign. Neither of the two completed members of the class had been completed by the outbreak of World War II. Clemenceau was never completed, and Gascogne was never laid down. The first, Clemenceau, would have received modified secondary and anti-aircraft batteries, while Gascogne would have had had her superfiring main battery turret shifted aft, along with other changes. After Germany ordered two Bismarck-class battleships, France responded with another pair of Richelieus, to be built to modified designs. ![]() They also incorporated new, more compact boilers that allowed for a shorter hull (which required less heavy armor) for the desired top speed. To keep the ships within the displacement limits imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty, they featured the same concentrated arrangement as the Dunkerques for the main battery: two quadruple gun turrets placed forward. The Richelieus were based on the preceding Dunkerque class, but scaled up to accommodate more powerful 380 mm (15 in) guns and armor to protect them from guns of the same caliber. Initially two ships were ordered in 1935 in response to Italian orders for the Littorio-class battleships the previous year. The Richelieu class were fast battleships built for the French Navy between the 1930s and 1950s. General characteristics ( Jean Bart as completed) General characteristics ( Richelieu 1943 refit) General characteristics (Designed configuration)ĩ,500 nautical miles (17,600 km 10,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h 17 mph) Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët.Richelieu after her refit in the United States, c. ![]()
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