![]() ![]() Although cases of 'excessive dispersion' can be prone to exaggeration some times, in the case of Richelieu, where spreads 1.4-1.8 kilometers are recorded, it would make effective gunnery extremely difficult if not impossible in my opinion. Although the relatively lengthy firing cycle (45 seconds) available to the guns shouldn't be of great consequence (due to rate of fire per gun usually being about 1 rpm in battleship engagements, especially given use of salvo fire), the fact that the turrets may easily become obscured if the ship has to turn away is a significant vulnerability, and perhaps worst of all would be the the dispersion issues that dogged the ship until 60-millisecond delay coils were fitted in 1948. Her speed came in combination with good armor (at least in thickness, as not much is known about armor quality as I understand), but firepower is probably where the French battleships fall short. For the Germans, she's another long-range raiding battleship. From an Allied point of view, she would add another 30-knot capital ship to the British fleet, something the British were in short supply of (the three battlecruisers, and then the 27/28-knot KGV's as they came into service). Richelieu is a very different story, and in a theoretical completed state, and assuming whichever side had her could produce the necessary ammunition, she would be a powerful asset overall. I don't think that Germany would have the resources to dedicate to competing her if she was theirs, while the British would likewise lack the equipment to complete her, and any conversion project would be costly and might not finish in time for the war. Jean Bart was never completed in wartime, and had to be fought with jury-rigged rangefinders and fire control stations during Operation Torch. A bit difficult to evaluate in my opinion because of the incomplete state of the ships. ![]()
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