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Force De Raid
The ''Force de Raid'' (Raiding Force) was a French naval squadron formed at Brest during naval mobilization for World War II. The squadron commanded by Vice Amiral d'Escadre Marcel Gensoul consisted of the most modern French capital ships ''Dunkerque'' and ''Strasbourg'', screened by the three newest French cruisers, the eight largest and most modern ''contre-torpilleurs'', and the only French aircraft carrier. The Force effectively ceased to exist as a separate unit after the British attack on Mers-el-Kébir. Strategic significance Battleships had been internationally perceived as the strategic arms race focus since the Washington Naval Conference of 1921. Countries unable to match the numbers of battleships maintained by the United States and the United Kingdom had built faster battleships so they might have the option of evading stronger fleets. Italy modernized ''Conte di Cavour'' and ''Giulio Cesare'' in 1937 with new engines increasing their speed to 28 knots. Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brest, France
Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon. The city is located on the western edge of continental France. With 142,722 inhabitants in a 2007 census, Brest forms Western Brittany's largest metropolitan area (with a population of 300,300 in total), ranking third behind only Nantes and Rennes in the whole of historic Brittany, and the 19th most populous city in France; moreover, Brest provides services to the one million inhabitants of Western Brittany. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the ''préfecture'' (regional capital) of the department is the much smaller Quimper. During the Middle Ages, the history of Brest was the history of its castle. Then Richelieu made it a military harbour in 1631. Brest grew around its arsenal unti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arms Race
An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more states to have superior armed forces; a competition concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and the aim of superior military technology, the term is also used to describe any long-term escalating competitive situation where each competitor or competitive group focuses on out-doing others. Unlike a sporting race, which constitutes a specific event with winning interpretable as the outcome of a singular project, arms races constitute spiralling systems of on-going and potentially open-ended behavior. The existing scholarly literature is divided as to whether arms races correlate with war. International-relations scholars explain arms races in terms of the security dilemma, rationalist spiral models, states with revisionist aims, and deterrence models. Examples Pre-First World War naval arms race From 1897 to 1914, a nav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Battleship Duilio
''Duilio'' (often known as ''Caio Duilio'') was an Italian that served in the ''Regia Marina'' during World War I and World War II. She was named after the Roman fleet commander Gaius Duilius. ''Duilio'' was laid down in February 1912, launched in April 1913, and completed in May 1916. She was initially armed with a main battery of thirteen guns, but a major reconstruction in the late 1930s replaced these with ten guns. ''Duilio'' saw no action during World War I owing to the inactivity of the Austro-Hungarian fleet during the conflict. She cruised the Mediterranean in the 1920s and was involved in the Corfu incident in 1923. During World War II, she participated in numerous patrols and sorties into the Mediterranean, both to escort Italian convoys to North Africa and in attempts to catch the British Mediterranean Fleet. In November 1940, the British launched an air raid on Taranto; ''Duilio'' was hit by one torpedo launched by a Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber, which caused ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Battleship Littorio
''Littorio'' was the lead ship of her class of battleship; she served in the Italian ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) during World War II. She was named after the Lictor ("''Littorio''" in Italian), in ancient times the bearer of the Roman ''fasces'', which was adopted as the symbol of Italian Fascism. ''Littorio'' and her sister were built in response to the French battleships and . They were Italy's first modern battleships, and the first 35,000-ton capital ships of any nation to be laid down under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. ''Littorio'' was laid down in October 1934, launched in August 1937, and completed in May 1940. Shortly after her commissioning, ''Littorio'' was badly damaged during the British air raid on Taranto on 11 November 1940, which put her out of action until the following March. ''Littorio'' thereafter took part in several sorties to catch the British Mediterranean Fleet, most of which failed to result in any action, the notable exception being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Battleship Vittorio Veneto
''Vittorio Veneto'' was the second member of the that served in the Italian ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) during World War II. The ship's keel was laid down in October 1934, launched in July 1937, and readied for service with the Italian fleet by August 1940. She was named after the Italian victory at Battle of Vittorio Veneto, Vittorio Veneto during World War I, and she had three sister ships: , , and , though only ''Littorio'' and ''Roma'' were completed during the war. She was armed with a main battery of nine guns in three triple turrets, and could steam at a speed of . ''Vittorio Veneto'' saw extensive service during the war. The ship escaped undamaged during the British Battle of Taranto, raid on Taranto in November 1940. Early in the war, she participated in the Battle of Cape Spartivento in November 1940 and the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 where she was damaged by a torpedo bomber, and then she was torpedoed by the British submarine in December 1941. She spen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Cruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attributes. Battlecruisers typically had thinner armour (to a varying degree) and a somewhat lighter main gun battery than contemporary battleships, installed on a longer hull with much higher engine power in order to attain greater speeds. The first battlecruisers were designed in the United Kingdom, as a development of the armoured cruiser, at the same time as the dreadnought succeeded the pre-dreadnought battleship. The goal of the design was to outrun any ship with similar armament, and chase down any ship with lesser armament; they were intended to hunt down slower, older armoured cruisers and destroy them with heavy gunfire while avoiding combat with the more powerful but slower battleships. However, as more and more battlecruisers were b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the middle decades of the 17th century, and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century, it was the world's most powerful navy until the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority globally. Owing to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, to ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scharnhorst-class Battleship
The ''Scharnhorst'' class was a class of German battleships (or battlecruisers) built immediately prior to World War II. The first capital ships of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'', it comprised two vessels: and . ''Scharnhorst'' was launched first, and is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; they are also referred to as the ''Gneisenau'' class in some other sources, as ''Gneisenau'' was the first to be laid down and commissioned. They marked the beginning of German naval rearmament after the Treaty of Versailles. The ships were armed with nine 28 cm (11 in) SK C/34 guns in three triple turrets; plans to replace these with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never realized. The two ships were laid down in 1935, launched in late 1936, and commissioned into the German fleet by early 1939. ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' operated together for the early years of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. Its principal members by 1941 were the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, France, and Poland, as well as their respective dependencies, such as British India. They were soon joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled that of the First World War. As Axis forces began invading northern Europe and the Balkans, the Allies added the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union, which initially had a nonaggression pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkerque-class Battleship
The ''Dunkerque'' class was a pair of fast battleships built for the French Navy in the 1930s; the two ships were and . They were the first French battleships built since the of pre-World War I vintage, and they were heavily influenced by the Washington Treaty system that limited naval construction in the 1920s and 1930s. French battleship studies initially focused on countering fast Italian heavy cruisers, leading to early designs for small, relatively lightly protected capital ships. But the advent of the powerful German s proved to be more threatening to French interests, prompting the need for larger and more heavily armed and armoured vessels. The final design, completed by 1932, produced a small battleship armed with eight guns that were concentrated in two quadruple gun turrets forward, with armour sufficient to defeat the ''Deutschland''s guns. ''Strasbourg'' was completed to a slightly modified design, receiving somewhat heavier armour in response to new Italian s. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Battleship Scharnhorst
''Scharnhorst'' was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. She was the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship . The ship was built at the ''Kriegsmarinewerft'' dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out. ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During her first operation, ''Scharnhorst'' sank the armed merchant in a short engagement (November 1939). ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' participated in Operation Weserübung (April–Jun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Battleship Gneisenau
''Gneisenau'' () was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine''. She was the second vessel of her class, which included her sister ship, . The ship was built at the ''Deutsche Werke'' dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935 and launched on 8 December 1936. Completed in May 1938, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans were approved, once construction had started, to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets, but as this would involve a lot of redesign, construction continued with the lower calibre guns. The intent was to make the upgrade in the winter of 1940–41, but the outbreak of World War II stopped this. ''Gneisenau'' and ''Scharnhorst'' operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_-_March_17%2C_1924.jpg "Click for more on -> Battle Cruiser")
