- 🚢Authorized and designed by count_of_brick.
- 🚢Model Description: Designed and licensed by count_of_brick, this model draws inspiration from the Richelieu fast battleship of WWII France. The model faithfully reproduces intricate details and design elements, including the ship’s distinctive layout, with the primary artillery concentrated in two large, quadruple turrets positioned in a back-to-back configuration at the front of the ship’s structure. The increased turret size accommodates eight powerful artillery pieces, replicating the ship’s formidable firepower.
- 🚢Background: The Richelieu is a French fast battleship, the lead vessel of the Richelieu class. Designed to counter Italy’s Littorio class, its sister ship, Jean Bart, was based on the Dunkerque-class predecessor. Both ships featured an unconventional layout, concentrating the main artillery in two quadruple turrets. Construction of the Richelieu began in 1935, and it was launched in 1939, just before the outbreak of WWII in Europe. With the increased threat of war against Germany, repairs on the ship were accelerated to prepare it for active duty by April 1940. The Richelieu was completed just days before Germany's victory in France in June and then retreated to Dakar in French West Africa to keep it under French control. There, it faced multiple attacks from Britain, who aimed to either persuade the ship to join the Free French Navy or disable it. Notable confrontations included the Operation Catapult in July 1940 and the Battle of Dakar in September.
After Japan’s surrender in September, the Richelieu was among the forces deployed to liberate Singapore and later operated in French Indochina as part of early efforts to restore French colonial authority. The French Navy decided to decommission the ship in 1967. In 1968, the Richelieu was sold as scrap and dismantled in Italy from 1968 to 1969.