The French battleships Strasbourg and Dunkerque according to the Dutch newspaper Het Vaderland: staat- en letterkundig nieuwsblad daily edition dated 26 September 1938

This newspaper published a description written by J. Ressing of the French battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg.(1) According to him were the ships based on the design of the German battleship Thüringen which was handed to France in 1918.(2) The French engineers investigated precious the armour, used bulkheads and building. After this examination was the ship for some days bombed with the heaviest bombs aircraft could transport and were several efforts of torpedo boats trying to sunk her without success. Just heavy 34cm guns were able to sink the ship. As a results of these trials were the French battleships fitted out with an armour with a weight of 11,000 tons which was 40% of the complete weight(=displacement) of the ships of 26,5000 tons (one metrical ton equals 1,016 kg). The armour belt was 225mm thick and the armour of the two gun turrets 325mm. The multiple hull was a good defence against mines and torpedo’s. Above the actual armour deck was a second thinner armour deck to protect against air bombs. The bulkheads used as protection in the multiple hulls against torpedo’s and mines were 40mm thick.

The 2x4-33cm gun turrets were placed on the fore ship. The guns were made in 1933 and were able to shoot a projectile of 540 kg over a distance of 40 kilometres. The 3x4-13cm anti aircraft guns were situated on the aft ship and 2x2-13cm anti aircraft guns besides the funnel. Further more were the ships armed with 8-37mm anti aircraft machineguns and were they able to carry with them 4 planes for which was one catapult on board. The Rateau turbines and 6 Indret boilers supplied 125,000 hip while driving 4 screws allowing a speed of 32 knots. With a speed of 15 knots was the range 7,500 nautical miles. The dimensions were 205 (deck)-214 (waterline) x 31 x 8,6 metres. The crew numbered 1,381 men.

Notes
1. Of the Dunkerque-class fast battleships. This class was preceded by the Bretagne-class, succeeded by the Richelieu-class and an answer to the German so-called pocket battleships of the Deutschland-class (for instance the Graf Spee!). The Dunkerque was laid down on 24 December 1932, launched on 2 October 1935, commissioned on 1 May 1937, scuttled on 27 November 1942 at Toulon, partly scrapped by German and Italian forces, hit by Allied air attacks, refloated of what was left in 1945 and sold to be broken up in 1958. The Strasbourg was laid down in November 1934, launched on 12 December 1936, scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1i42, refloated on 17 July 1943 by the Italian navy but after Italy capitulated in German hands, handed over to France on 1 April 1944, sunk as a result of an American air attack on 18 August 1944, refloated on 1 October 1944 and used as a target for trials with underwater explosives, renamed Q45 on 22 March 1955 and sold on 27 May of the same year to be broken up. Dimensions of these ships were 215,1 x 31,1 x 8,7 metres. The displacement and armour specifications differs for both ships.
2. The Thüringen was laid down at the yard of AG Weser at Bremen, Germany on 2 November 1909, launched on 27 November 1909, commissioned on 1 July 1911, decommissioned on 16 December 1918, served as an accommodation ship, stricken from the German navy list on 5 November 1919, handed as the “L” to France on 29 April 1920 and used as target and sunk off Gavres and partly broken up between 1923-1933 although remains ares still visible nowadays. She was of the Helgoland-class with a displacement of 22,448 long tons and the dimensions 167,20 x 28,50 x 8,94 metres. The armour consisted of a 300mm belt, a 63,5mm deck while the turrets were protected by 300mm.