French battleship Richelieu
Service
- as Richelieu1 April 1940 — 19671,980 days of the war
- Name
- Richelieu
- Namesake
- Cardinal de Richelieu
- Builder
- Arsenal de Brest
- Laid down
- 22 October 1935
- Launched
- 17 January 1939
- Commissioned
- 1 April 1940
- Decommissioned
- 1967
- Struck
- 1968
- Fate
- Broken up, September 1968 (1968)
- Status
- Scrapped
Specifications — Original configuration
- Displacement, standard
- 37,250 long tons (37,848 t)
- Displacement, full load
- 43,992 long tons (44,698 t)
- Length
- 247.85 m (813.2 ft)
- Beam
- 33.08 m (108.5 ft)
- Draught
- 9.9 m (32.5 ft)
- Speed
- 32 knots (59.3 km/h, 36.8 mph)
- Range
- 9,500 nmi (17,594 km)
- Complement
- 1,569
- Main gun
- 380 mm (15 in)
Richelieu was a Richelieu-class battleship, operated by the Marine Nationale. She was named for Cardinal de Richelieu. Arsenal de Brest laid her keel on 22 October 1935. Launched on 17 January 1939, she entered service on 1 April 1940.
Her class ran to two ships. The class followed the Dunkerque-class battleship and was succeeded by the Alsace-class battleship.
She displaced 37,250 long tons standard and 43,992 long tons at full load. She measured 247.8 m (813 ft) long with a beam of 33.1 m (109 ft). Her designed speed was 32 knots, and she carried a complement of 1,569.
Her main battery was eight 380 mm (15.0 in) guns. Her belt armour was 330 mm (13.0 in) and her deck 170 mm. She carried four aircraft. Her machinery developed 155,000 shp.
She was in commission for 1,980 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned in 1967. She was struck from the register in 1968.
She was broken up for scrap in September 1968.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
This vessel is recorded in 2 configurations. Wartime refits changed armament and complement substantially, so each is kept separately rather than averaged into one set of figures. The figures above are as built.
Original configuration
- Propulsion
- 4 × Parsons geared turbines
- 4 × screws
- Power
- 6 × Indret Sural boilers
- 155000 shp
- Armament
- 8 × 380 mm (15-inch)/45 Modèle 1935 guns
- 9 × 152 mm/50 guns
- 12 × 100 mm (3.9-inch) anti-aircraft guns
- 8 × 37 mm AA guns
- 20 × 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine guns
- Armour
- Belt: 330 mm
- Main deck: 170 mm
- Turrets: 430 mm
- Conning tower: 340 mm
- Aircraft
- 4 × Loire 130 seaplanes
1943 refit
- Displacement, standard
- 43,263 long tons (43,957 t)
- Displacement, full load
- 46,974 long tons (47,728 t)
- Draught
- 10.68 m (35 ft)
- Complement
- 1,930
- Main gun
- 380 mm (15 in)
- Armament
- 8 × 380 mm/45 guns
- 9 × 152 mm/50 guns
- 12 × 100 mm anti-aircraft guns
- 56 × 40 mm Bofors AA guns
- 48 × 20 mm Oerlikon AA cannons
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from French battleship Richelieu on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: U.S. Navy photo 80-G-78789 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons