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The French Navy ordered the Dunkerque
class battleships after they learned
Germany’s Deutschland class pocket
battleships were going to exceed the size
recommended by the Washington Treaty
limits of 1921. The two ships of this
class, Dunkerque and
Strasbourg, were specially
designed to stay inside the London Treaty
limits of 1930. With rising military
tensions in Europe at that time, Italy
responded to these ships by modernizing
their old battleships Duilio and
Doria and began the construction
of their four 41,200-ton Littorio class
battleships in 1938. Germany also
responded by building two 35,540-ton
Sharnhorst class battleships and later
two 42,000-ton Bismarck class
battleships.
During the British warship attacks on
the French Navy base at Mers El Kabir
July 3rd 1940, Dunkerque was hit
by three shells while trying to leave the
harbor and had to be run aground to
prevent her from sinking. She was further
damaged three days later when British
carrier aircraft torpedoed a mine laying
ship moored next to her. After lengthy
repairs, Dunkerque was moved to
the Vichy French controlled base at
Toulon February 20th 1942. By November
1942, German forces were threatening to
take control of all the French warships
based at Toulon. To prevent these ships
being used against the Allies, the French
scuttled 3 battleships including
Dunkerque and Strasbourg, 7
cruisers, 29 destroyers and 2 submarines.
Although Dunkerque was raised in
1945, no attempt was ever made to have
her repaired. The French Navy eventually
took the decision to have her scrapped in
1958. The Italian’s salvaged
Strasbourg in 1943 only for her to
be sunk again by British bombers August
18th 1944.
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