Description
Richelieu was a French battleship from the Second World War. Her keel was laid down in 1935, and subsequently launched in January 1939, and commissioned in the French Marine Nationale in June 1940. Her full displacement at the time of launching was approximately 47,600 tons, with a length of 248 metres and a beam of 33 metres. Her maximum speed was up to 30 knots and was armed with 8, 15″ guns in two turrets, 9, 6″ guns and 12, 3.9″guns.
Richelieu class battleships were designed and built primarily as a French response to the Italian Littorio/Vittorio Veneto-class ships and to a lesser extent to counter the Kriegsmarine of the Bismarck class. All main artillery was placed in front of the main superstructure, similar to the battleships HMS Rodney or HMS Nelson.
During the fighting in France in the Spring of 1940, she located to Dakar in June, where fitting out was completed, to relocate to North Africa, remaining there until July 1940, when following the fall of France, she as well as other assets of the French Navy were attacked by the British fleet at Mers el Kebir in Algeria as part of Operation Catapult, to prevent her from falling into the hands of the Germans. Following Operation Torch in November 1942, and the subsequent invasion of Vichy France by the Germans, the Richelieu defected to the Allies, and was sent to America in January 1943, to receive a major refit in the USA, and when complete went onto serve with the Home Fleet and then with the British Pacific Fleet, being the era depicted in the kit. In August 1944, she returned to liberated France for a refit, before returning to the far east. In March 1946 she returned to France, subsequently taking part in the conflict in Indochina in an attempt to reassert French control and then in the ill fated Operation Musketeer, as what was known as the Suez crisis in 1956. Two years later she was placed in the reserve, and broken up in the late 1960s.
The kit measures 707.3 mm in length and with a beam of 95 mm.
Box in good condition. Kit parts in original sealed bags.
