WAK EXTRA01-2007 Dunkerque Francuski szybki pancernik

Dunkerque is a French battleship from the Second World War. The keel for this vessel was laid in 1932, the launch took place in October 1935. The full displacement of the ship at the time of launching was approx. 35,500 tons, length - 214.5 meters, and 31.1 meters wide. The maximum speed was up to 29-30 knots. The on-board armament consisted of: 8 330 mm guns in two turrets, and 16 130 mm guns.

Dunkerque was the first battleship to belong to the class of units of the same name. The battleships of this type were designed and built primarily as a French response to the German Deutschland class. All main artillery was placed in front of the unit - similar to the battleships HMS Rodney or HMS Nelson. The armor of the new French battleships was also as good as possible. It is worth adding that the Dunkerque class units were still built in accordance with the provisions of the Washington Conference. Dunkerque did not take an active part in World War II. In the years 1939-1940 he performed mainly convoy functions in the Mediterranean. After the surrender of France in June 1940, he was directed to the base at Mers-el-Kebir, where in July of the same year he was attacked by the British fleet as part of Operation Catapult. As a result of this attack, it suffered very serious damage and settled to the bottom of the port. From the beginning of 1942 it was renovated, but in November 1942 it was self-sinking by the crew