Operation Catapult

E1013732

Operation Catapult was a controversial World War II British naval action in July 1940 in which the Royal Navy attacked and neutralized elements of the French fleet to prevent them from falling into German hands after France’s armistice with Germany.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Operation Catapult canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II military operation
naval operation
aftermath Vichy France broke off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom
used by German and Vichy propaganda against Britain
belligerent United Kingdom
Vichy France
carriedOutBy Royal Navy
casualties over 1,000 French sailors killed at Mers-el-Kébir
cause France’s armistice with Germany in June 1940
characterizedAs controversial
preemptive strike
commander Dudley North
James Somerville
component attack on French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir
negotiations and stand-off at Alexandria
operations against French ships at Dakar
seizure of French ships in British ports
conflict World War II
country United Kingdom
legalStatus disputed under international law
location Alexandria, Egypt
Dakar, French West Africa
linked to: Dakar

Mers-el-Kébir
Oran
Plymouth, United Kingdom
linked to: Plymouth, England

Portsmouth, United Kingdom
linked to: Portsmouth, England
notableShipDamaged French battleship Dunkerque
notableShipEscaped French battleship Strasbourg
notableShipSunk French battleship Bretagne
objective to prevent the French fleet from falling into German hands
opposedBy Marcel-Bruno Gensoul NERFINISHED
orderedBy Winston Churchill
partOf Battle of the Atlantic
relatedTo Armistice of 22 June 1940
Free French Forces
Vichy France
result major French warships at Mers-el-Kébir neutralized
severe deterioration of Anglo-French relations
strengthening of British naval security in the Mediterranean
startDate 1940-07-03
target French Navy
French aircraft carrier Béarn
French battleship Bretagne
French battleship Dunkerque
French battleship Provence
French battleship Strasbourg
French destroyers at Mers-el-Kébir
French submarines in British ports
timePeriod July 1940

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

cruisers of Force H notableOperation Operation Catapult
Force H participatedIn Operation Catapult
Battle of Mers-el-Kébir partOf Operation Catapult