The Richelieu-class battleships were the last and largest battleships of the French Navy, staying in service into the 1960s. They still remain to this day the largest warships ever built by France. Designed in the 1930s to counter the threat of the Italian Vittorio Veneto-class battleships, the Richelieu class were essentially scaled-up versions of the preceding Dunkerque class, featuring a main battery of eight 380 mm (15.0 in) guns in two quadruple turrets in forward superfiring positions.