"Dunkirk" appeared as a result of an accelerated program of creation of warships, deployed in France in the early thirties and enrich the country's shipbuilding industry with several new discoveries by design. After a long period of inactivity, following the First World War, French naval command, preparations concerned expansionist Germany, decided to undertake the re-equipment of the Navy. The ships of the "Dunkirk" was a response to the French construction German cruisers "Deutschland".
"Dunkirk" and with it the same type of ship "Strasbourg" conceived as battleships, but, It is rather Fleet, but relatively poorly armored, they became known as heavy cruisers or "Fleet battleships". His craft design data as it established a kind of pattern, which was followed by many shipbuilders, particularly in Europe. Designers "Dunkirk" is clearly inspired by British battleships type "Nelson", first armed mounted in the bow three-gun turrets with nine 330-mm guns of the main fire and equipped bashennopodobnym bridge. Advantage, which gave placing the primary weapon in the nose, It consists in the possibility to concentrate the cellar ammunition in one place and thereby reduce the weight of the assembly. However, such an arrangement reduces the overall firing sector and allowing a precise hit enemy incapacitate turret "Dunkerque" with four guns.
French battleship did not have heavy armor and has been calculated on the, to withstand penetration projectile 11-inch. (280-mm) gun from a distance 16 640 m. Much more attention was paid to the ship torpedo protection, underwater part of which has been divided into a plurality of compartments, refueling, air and the rubber mixture. The ship could carry two floatplane Loire 130. "Dunkirk" was laid 24 December 1932 city, launched 2 October 1935 g. and in April 1937 g. was commissioned. Before the surrender of France, both ships of this type, "Dunkirk" and "Strasbourg», engaged in the protection of convoys. After the capitulation of France, they were among many others, It is out of reach for the Vichy government. The British decided not to allow ingress of the French fleet in the hands of the Germans, resulting in "Dunkirk" was badly damaged by fire naval artillery KVMF at Mers-el-Kabir in July 1940 g. 6 July planes "Suordfishi" on board HMS «Ark Royal" again attacked the "Dunkirk", which again suffered severe damage as a result of the explosion is close to his barge with fuel. As a result, in February, 1942 g. "Dunkirk" somehow made it to the port of Toulon, which he had been disabled and the command is cast in a dry dock in November 1942 g. AT 1950 g. the remains of the ship went for scrap.
The performance characteristics of the battleship "Dunkirk"
| Displacement | standard 26 500 t; full 30 750 t |
| main dimensions | length (overall) 214,5 m; width (at the waterline) 31 m; draft 8,68 m |
| Power plant | six types of boilers Indret, four Parsons turbines with a total capacity 112 500 hp, four rotating propellers 29,5 with. |
| full speed | 29,5 with. |
| booking | the thickness of the belt from bead 247 mm 146 mm; deck of 127 mm 38 mm; torpedo room 38 mm; main towers of 336 mm 152 mm; towers of mine guns 89 mm |
| weaponry | eight 13-inch. (330-mm) guns of the main caliber, 16 – 5,1-inch. (130-mm) mine guns, eight 37-mm anti-aircraft automatic guns, 32 -13,2-mm anti-aircraft machine gun, two aircraft |
| Command | 1431 human |
Photo battleship "Dunkirk"
