French Battleships, 1922-1956 [Hardcover]

John Jordan (Author), Robert Dumas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2009

The French battleships of the Dunkerque and Richelieu classes were the most radical and influential battleship designs of the interwar period, and were coveted by the British, German and Italian navies following the Armistice of June 1940. Using a wealth of primary-source material, some of which has only recently been made available, the authors provide a full account of their development and a detailed analysis of their design characteristics. The technical chapters are interspersed with operational histories, with a particular focus on the operations in which the ships engaged other heavy units. The book is extensively illustrated with hundreds of photographs and technical drawings, including twenty-two color profile and plan views of the ships.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Jordan is the editor of the Warship annual and a lifelong student of French naval history on which he has written extensively. Robert Dumas is France's leading expert on warship design, and the author of numerous books and monographs on the ships of the Marine Nationale.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; 1 edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591144167
• ISBN-13: 978-1591144168
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice technical and operational history, October 3, 2009

By 

Mark Hinds (NE Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: French Battleships, 1922-1956 (Hardcover)

This book primarily covers the WWII-era French battleships Dunkerque, Strassbourg, Richelieu, and Jean Bart, from a technical and historical perspective. It appears to be an English-language update of French-language monographs written on this topic by one of the two authors, previously published by "Marines Editions".

The book is worth purchasing for its own sake, however. Although much of the material is similar to its predecessor, it is organized differently, and it is written in English. It also contains additional material, including 2 preliminary chapters discussing the planned/constructed French battleship predecessors of these ships, color plans and profiles showing paint schemes, and a bit more historical discussion. The book also exhibits very high-quality production values, with improved line drawings, diagrams, and photographs.

The bibliography is a bit sketchy.

Although I already own the Dulin/Garzke/Webb "Allied Battleships in World War Two", as well as the Dumas monographs mentioned above, and thus already have access to similar material, I was happy with my purchase.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars French Battleships described in detail, November 4, 2009

By 

Nathan F. Okun "naval armor" (Ventura County, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: French Battleships, 1922-1956 (Hardcover)

This book has extremely large amounts of detailed information on many aspects of warship design that are skipped in other books. Details on the projectile design are excellent, for example. Since this is the "business end" of the warship's ability to defeat an enemy, the design of projectiles and how they work is important, second only to the fire-control system that aims them at the target (being able to hit is somewhat more important than best possible results when a hit occurs, if you have to pick one or the other). The various problems that occurred due to the designers "biting off more than they could chew" in some aspects of the design of these ships shows the importance of limiting the risk by using equipment that already exists or that is not a lot different from current designs -- the problems with the anti-aircraft systems is particularly informative. All-in-all, well worth the price if this is interesting to you.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every cent!, December 18, 2009

By 

Bongo "Bongo" (Snohomish, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: French Battleships, 1922-1956 (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book. Authored by two of the foremost contemporary authorities on French warships, it is a greatly enhanced, single-volume elaboration -- in English -- of Robert Dumas' three-part French-language monograph covering the battleships "Dunkerque," "Strassbourg," "Richelieu" and "Jean Bart." This work's scope includes a look back at French dreadnought battleships commissioned and planned prior to 1932; as well as the fullest English-language profile I have seen of the never-completed battleship designs projected after 1939 ("Clemenceau," "Gascogne" and "Alsace"). The authors do a commendable job of describing the historic, political and technical factors influencing French capital ship development and procurement; then follow up with thorough technical descriptions and revealing operational histories of the four completed ships. The volume concludes with a candid and balanced assessment of the ships and comparisons with foreign contemporaries. The text is clear and to-the-point. The accompanying photos emphasize close-up views showing general arrangements and details of ship's equipment, but also include overall portraits demonstrating the changing profiles of the vessels throughout their lives. Especially delightful are the eight pages presenting 23 side elevation and overhead views -- in color -- of "Dunkerque," "Strassbourg," "Richelieu," "Jean Bart," "Clemenceau" and "Gascogne" as they appeared at different stages of their careers. These drawings are beautifully executed. Most of the numerous line drawings -- many prepared specifically by Mr. Jordan for this volume -- are well-done. This book does justice to these handsome and technically innovative ships while filling a long-neglected need in the English literature on naval history. I own the French-language Dumas trilogy that was the starting point for "French Battleships 1922-1956," but feel that this book was well worth its price.