Damage report Richelieu - Dakar

[alecsandros]

Hello,

I am trying to find information concerning the damage suffered by Richelieu during the battle of Dakar.
I know about the torpedo hit, and it doesn't concern me.

What does concern me are the shell hits (381mm) coming from Barham.

Wikipedia notes 2 hits, while in Garzke&Dulin Allied BBs there is only 1 reference, about a shell which hit "between the bridge tower and the mast stack. It caused some minor splinter damage and a small fire which was quickly extinguished, but there were no
casualties"

Anybody know more about this?

[Gary]

I always thought it was the other way around - Richelieu hit Barham?

[alecsandros]

I don't know for sure.
It seems though that Wiki is correct and gunners from the Richelieu maned some guns from the shore batteries, and managed to land 1 hit on Barham's side.

There were no 380mm hits obtained by RIchelieu, though.

[boredatwork]

On September 24th Richelieu suffered very light damage from a single shell splinter which pierced the unarmored hull above the waterline in section R (around the hangar area).

On Sept 25th:

[at 0915] Richelieu was shaken by the impact of a 15 inch shell, which struck amidships above the armored belt and penetrated section L. [ie between the FC tower and the stack] There were no casualties, but a mess deck was devastated and the main armored deck was pushed in to a depth of 20cm.

- Dumas p. 147




Richelieu hit Barham with a 152mm shell on September 24. (in addition to 4 hits by 240mm costal batteries, partially manned by Turret I's crew)

[alecsandros]

Thank you very much Michael.

It is interesting to note the 381mm shell hit on the 25th. My impression is that it exploded very early.
This comes in accordance with Rodney's shells performance at Bismarck's final battle...

[Serg]

Anybody know more about this?

Jordan and Dumas of course.
"The damage caused by the 15in shell hit barely affectid the fighting capability of the ship, but the devastation to fittings and bulkheads above the level of the main armoured deck was extensive: the armored deck had been forced downward some 20cm where the shell impacted on it. There was also damage to the uptakes for the forward boiler room, which was protected only by box of 20mm plating; boilers 10 and 11 were temporarily out of service, and boiler 12 (port side) could be used only with care. Much of the electrical cabling which served this section had been severed and needed to be replaced. The hole in the outer plating of section L where the shell had entered needed to be pathed, as did the hole in section R caused by a shell splinter"
p147

[Serg]

I always thought it was the other way around - Richelieu hit Barham?

Yes, you are correct in some way. Some sources credit it as a 15" hit and another as near miss. According to Warship International (there was two-part article compilated on basis of several quite good sources) "At 0919, Richelieu scored a near miss on Barham, which exploded under her starboard side amidships causing some slow flooding of the lower bulge compartaments in the area" (p251 2007 No3)
For unknown reason Jordan & Dumas's book did not mentioned it but according to Richelieu's battle log on p145 "0925 380mm ordered to engage Barham. Latter hit aft, turns hard about and significant reduction in speed". British and French time had difference around 6 minutes.

Excepting this near miss (?) the Barham was hit 6 times the day before: by two 9.4" (according to Operation Menace by Marder the Force Y have brought on 120 gunners who replaced Richelieu's crew at Cap Manuel and manned Bel-Air battery) one 6.1" and three unspecified shells.
In return British BB's have achieved one near miss on 24 and one direct hit on 25 (0915) against Richelieu.

[Gary]

So splinters from a near miss 15 incher caused below the waterline flooding on Barham

[Bgile]

So splinters from a near miss 15 incher caused below the waterline flooding on Barham

It would be rare, but it it exploded within a very short distance of the hull it would certainly do that.

[Dave Saxton]

What were the battle ranges involved?

[alecsandros]

What were the battle ranges involved?

14km on Sep 24th and ~ 20km on Sep 25th.