The Richelieu Class: France’s Final Gamble

The Richelieu-class battleships were the swan song of France’s heavy surface fleet and among the most advanced warships of their time. Their story is more than a chronicle of armor, guns, and speed. It is the story of the ordeals faced by a once-great naval power on the eve of the Second World War. French engineers did not try to follow the path taken by the designers of Japan’s Yamato, nor did they chase record-breaking size. Instead, they placed their faith in a carefully judged balance of characteristics. That is why the Richelieu class is still often regarded as perhaps the most successful European battleship design of its generation.