- List of battleships of France
This is a list of French
battleship s of the period 1859-1970. Note that the dates given are the ships' launch date.The French Navy pursued three main lines of development with these ships:
*Large sea-going battleships. The first generation were broadside ironclads; the next generation were central battery ships with some guns inbarbette s to give all round fire. The French then abandoned the central battery in favour of an narrow armoured belt and a main armament in barbettes. Two French battleships "Brennus" and "Charles Martel" were abandoned in the 1880s, in part because it was believed that more money should be spent on high-technology weapons such as torpedo boats. The French adopted the lozenge layout in the 1880s and 1890s, and only adopted the 'pre-dreadnought' layout in the late 1890s. Like other powers the French laid down 'dreadnoughts' before the First World war, but their dreadnought programmes were cut short by the war. During the 1930s, the French laid down new fast battleships; the "Dunkerque" class were rivals of the German "Scharnhorst" class, the "Richelieu" class were rivals of the German "Bismarck" class. The last French battleship was scrapped in 1970.*Stationnaire battleships. These were smaller versions of the large battleships, and were often used on foreign stations where they did the job of a battleship. Development of this type was abandoned in the 1880s in favour of armoured cruisers.
*Coastal service ships. The first of these was the steam-powered ironclad 'floating batteries' used to attack Russian fortifications in the
Crimean War . More were built in the early 1860s; then they built a series of low freeboard turret and barbette ships, some of which were arguably sea-going battleships.ea-going battleships
Broadside ironclads
* "Gloire" class 5,603 tons.Chesnau, Roger and Kolesnik, Eugene (Ed.) "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905". Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-83170-302-4]
** "Gloire" (1859) - world's first ocean-going ironclad, stricken 1879.
** "Invincible" (1861) - stricken 1872.
** "Normandie" (1860) - stricken 1871.* "Couronne" (1861) 5,983 tons - hulked 1910.
* "Magenta" class 6,715 tons.
** "Magenta" (1861) - sank after internal explosion 1875.
** "Solférino" (1861) - stricken 1882.* "Provence" class 5,700 - 6,122 tons.
** "Provence" (1863) - stricken 1884.
** "Savoie" (1863) - stricken 1888.
** "Héroïne" (1863) - hulked 1894.
** "Flandre" (1864) - stricken 1886.
** "Magnanime" (1864) - stricken 1882.
** "Surveillante" (1864) - stricken 1890.
** "Valeureuse" (1864) - stricken 1886.
** "Gauloise" (1865) - stricken 1883.
** "Guyenne" (1865) - stricken 1882.
** "Revanche" (1865) - BU (broken up) 1893.tationnaire broadside ironclads
* "Belliqueuse" (1865) 3,717 tons - expended as a target 1886.
Central battery ships with barbettes
* "Océan" class 7,580/7,775 tons.
** "Océan" (1868) - stricken 1894.
** "Marengo" (1869) - sold 1896.
** "Suffren" (1870) - stricken 1897.* "Friedland" (1873) 8,850 tons - stricken 1902.
* "Richelieu" (1873) 8,984 tons - sold 1901, sank in the Bay of Biscay after sale.
* "Colbert" class 8,750 tons.
** "Colbert" (1875) - stricken 1900.
** "Trident" (1876) - hulked 1904.* "Redoutable" (1876) 9,224 tons, first warship in the world to use
steel as the principal building material - stricken 1910.* "Dévastation" class 10,450 tons.
** "Courbet" (1882) ex-"Foudroyant" - stricken 1910.
** "Dévastation" (1879) - BU 1922.tationnaire central battery ships with barbettes
* "Alma" class 3,513-3,828 tons.
** "Alma" (1867) - hulked 1886.
** "Armide" (1867) - stricken 1887.
** "Atlante" (1868) - stricken 1887.
** "Jeanne D'Arc" (1867) - stricken 1883.
** "Montcalm" (1868) ex-"Indienne" - stricken 1891.
** "Reine Blanche" (1868) - stricken 1886.
** "Thetis" (1867) - stricken 1895.* "La Galissonnière" class 4,585-4,645 tons.
** "La Galissonnière" (1872) - stricken 1894.
** "Triomphante" (1877) - sold 1903.
** "Victorieuse" (1875) - hulked 1900.Barbette ships
* "Amiral Duperré" (1879) 11,030 tons. Though this ship was designed for sail as well as steam power, her sails were removed before completion. - stricken 1909.
* "Amiral Baudin" class 11,720 tons, the first French sea-going battleships without any sail power.Hovgaard, William, "Modern History of Warships", originally published 1920, pub Conway, 1978, ISBN 0-85177-040-1 ]
** "Amiral Baudin" (1883) - hulked 1909.
** "Formidable" (1885) - stricken 1911.* "Hoche" (1886) 10,820 tons, turrets & barbettes - target 1913.
* "Marceau" class 10,558-10,810 tons.
** "Marceau" (1887) - BU 1922.
** "Magenta" (1890) - stricken 1910.
** "Neptune" (1887) - stricken 1913.* "Charles Martel class" 10,600-10,650 tons, slightly enlarged "Marceau"s.Brassey, Lord, "The Naval Annual 1886", pub Griffin, 1886.]
**"Charles Martel" (-) laid down 1883, construction suspended 1886.
**"Brennus" (-) laid down 1884, construction suspended 1886.Page 86, Brassey, Lord, "The Naval Annual 1886",] "Ropp, Theodore, "The Development of a Modern Navy, French Naval Policy 1871-1904", pub US Naval Institute, 1987, ISBN 0-87021-141-2]tationnaire barbette ships
* "Bayard" class 5,915-6,260 tons. Smaller versions of "Amiral Dupperré", with full sail power.
** "Bayard" (1880) - hulked 1899.
** "Turenne" (1879) - stricken 1901.* "Vauban" class 6,112 tons. Improved "Bayard"s.
** "Duguesclin" (1883) - stricken 1904.
** "Vauban" (1882) - stricken 1905.Turret ships
* "Brennus" (1891) 11,190 tons, the first large ship with Belleville boilers, - BU 1922.
* "Charles Martel" 11,693 tons - stricken 1922.
* "Carnot" (1894) 11,954 tons - stricken 1922.
* "Jauréguiberry" (1893) 11,637 tons - BU 1934.
* "Masséna" (1895) 11,735 tons - hulked, then scuttled as a breakwater atCape Helles 1915.
* "Bouvet" (1896) 12,007 tons - mined 1915.* "Charlemagne" class 11,100 tons.
** "Charlemagne" (1895) - stricken 1920.
** "St Louis" (1896) - BU 1933.
** "Gaulois" (1896) - torpedoed 1916.* "Iéna" (1898) 11,860 - tons sank after explosion 1907.
* "Suffren" (1899) 12,527 tons - torpedoed 1916.
* "République" class 14,605-14,900 tons.
** "République" (1902) - stricken 1921.
** "Patrie" (1903) - stricken 1928.* "Liberté" class 14,489-14,860 tons.
** "Liberté" (1905) - sank after explosion 1911.
** "Justice" (1904) - stricken 1922.
** "Vérité" (1907) - stricken 1922.
** "Démocratie" - stricken 1921.* "Danton" class ("semi-Dreadnoughts") 18,318 tons normal, 19,763 tons full load.Gardiner, Robert (ed), "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921", pub Conways, 1985, ISBN 0-85177-245-5 ]
** "Danton" (1909) - torpedoed 1917 inTyrrhenian Sea .
** "Voltaire" (1909) - condemned 1935, BU 1939.
** "Diderot" (1909) - condemned 1936, BU 1937.
** "Condorcet" (1909) - deleted 1931, scuttled 1942, refloated 1944, sold for BU 1945.
** "Mirabeau" (1909) - target 1921-22, BU 1928.
** "Vergniaud" (1910) - deleted 1921, used as target for experiments until 1926, BU 1928.Experimental turret ships
* "Henri IV" (1899) 8,807 tons - stricken 1921.
Dreadnoughts
* "Courbet" class 22,189 tons normal, 25,000-26,000 tons full load.
** "Jean Bart" (1911) - renamed "Océan" 1936, disarmed for use as a training ship 1938, used for explosives trials by the Germans and sank 1944, sold for BU 1945, broken up (BU) 1946-47Fact|date=April 2008.
** "Courbet" (1911) - training ship 1939, taken over by Royal Navy 3 July 1940, transferred to Free French and used as AA guardship, scuttled on 9 June 1944 as part of a Mulberry harbour during the Normandy landings.
** "Paris" (1912) - training ship 1939, taken over by Royal Navy 3 July 1940, transferred to Free French and used as accommodation ship, towed to Brest August 1944, used as a pontoon from 1950, sold for BU December 1955, BU 1956Fact|date=April 2008
** "France" (1912) - wrecked 1922.* "Bretagne" class 25,000 full load.
** "Provence" (1913) - sunk at Mers-el-Kébir 3 July 1940, refloated, and repaired at Toulon, scuttled November 1942, refloated 1943, scuttled 1944, refloated and BU 1949.
** "Bretagne" (1913) - sunk at Mers-el-Kébir 3 July 1940, salvaged 1952 and BU.
** "Lorraine" (1913) - interned by the British at Alexandria June 1940 - May 1943, then used by Free French, used as training ship 1945-1953, stricken February 1953, BU 1954.* "Normandie" class 25,230 full load (all except "Béarn" were cancelled and scrapped after launching).
** "Gascogne" (1914) - BU 1923-24.
** "Normandie" (1914) - BU 1924-25.
** "Flandre" (1914) - BU 1924.
** "Languedoc" (1916) - BU 1929.
** "Béarn" (1920) converted to aircraft carrier 1923-27 - BU 1967.* "Lyon" class 29,000 tons full load, planned under 1912 programme, it was intended to place orders with builders in January-April 1915.
** "Duquesne" (-) not started.
** "Lille" (-) not started.
** "Lyon" (-) not started.
** "Tourville" (-) not started.Fast battleships
* "Dunkerque" class 26,500 tons standard, 30,750-31,400 tons normal, 35,500 tons deep load.Gardiner, Robert (ed), "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946", pub Conways, 1980, ISBN 0-84177-146-7 ]
** "Dunkerque" (1935) - damaged at Mers-el-Kébir 1940, underwent temporary repairs enabling her to returned to Toulon in February 1942, scuttled November 1942, refloated 1945, sold for BU 1958.
** "Strasbourg" (1936) - scuttled November 1942, refloated 1943, sunk 1944, refloated 1945, used as experimental hulk, sold for BU 1955.
* "Richelieu" class 35,000 tons standard, 43,293-46,500 tons standard, 47,548-49,850 tons deep load.
** "Richelieu" (1939) - BU 1964.
** "Jean Bart" (1940) - BU 1970.
** "Clemenceau" (1943) - launched incomplete 1943, hull sunk by bombing 27 August 1944.
** "Gascogne" never laid down - cancelled.
* "Alsace" class (not begun)Fact|date=April 2008
** "Alsace" (-)Fact|date=April 2008
** "Normandie " (-)Fact|date=April 2008
** "Flandre" (-)Fact|date=April 2008
** "Bourgogne" (-)Fact|date=April 2008Coastal service ships
Broadside ironclad coastal service ships
* Ironclad floating batteries built for the Crimean War 1,600 tons.
** "Congrève" (1855) - stricken 1867
** "Dévastation" (1855) - stricken 1871.
** "Foudroyante" (1855) - stricken 1871.
** "Lave" (1855) - stricken 1871.
** "Tonnante" (1855) - stricken 1871.* "Palestro class" floating batteries 1,508-1,539 tons.
** "Paixhans" (1862) - stricken 1871.
** "Palestro" (1862) - stricken 1871.
** "Peiho" (1862) - stricken 1871.
** "Saïgon" (1862) - stricken 1871.* "Arrogante class" floating batteries 1,412-1.490 tons.
** "Arrogante" (1864) - stricken 1881.
** "Implacable" (1864) - stricken 1884.
** "Opiniâtre" (1864) - stricken 1885.* "Embuscade class" floating batteries 1,426-1,589 tons.
** "Embuscade" (1865) - stricken 1885.
** "Imprenable" (1867) - stricken 1882.
** "Protectrice" (1867) - stricken 1889.
** "Refuge" (1866) - stricken 1884.* "Rochambeau" (1865) ex-USS "Dunderberg" 7,800 tons, purchased 1867 - stricken 1872.
Barbette and turret coastal service ships
* "Taureau" (1865) barbette ship ram 2,433 tons - stricken 1890.
* "Onondaga" (1863) ex-USS "Onondaga" 2,551 tons, purchased 1867 - stricken 1904.
* "Cerbère class" turret rams 3,532 tons.
** "Belier" (1870) - stricken 1896.
** "Bouledogue" (1872) - stricken 1897.
** "Cerbère" (1868) - stricken 1887.
** "Tigre" (1871) - stricken 1892.* "Tonnerre class" turret ships 5,765-5,871 tons.
** "Tonnerre" (1875) - stricken 1905.
** "Fulminant" (1877) - stricken 1908.* "Tempête class" turret ships 4.635-4,793 tons.
** "Tempête" (1876) - stricken 1907.
** "Vengeur" (1878) - stricken 1905.* "Tonnant" (1880) barbette ship 5,010 tons. Originally intended to be similar to "Tempête", but redesigned as a small battleship with increased freeboard and a gun at each end in barbettes. - stricken 1903.
* "Furieux" (1883) barbette ship 5,925 tons. Similar to "Tonnant" for the same reasons. - stricken 1913.
* "Terrible" class barbette ships 7,530 tons. Small battleships based on the "Amiral Baudin", and intended for operating in the Baltic in case of war with Germany. The British sometimes considered these to be sea-going battleships,Brassey, Lord, "The Naval Annual 1887", pub Griffin, 1887.] and sometimes coastal service warships.Brassey, Lord, "The Naval Annual 1890", pub Griffin, 1890.]
** "Caïman" (1885) - BU 1927.
** "Indomptable" (1883) - BU 1927.
** "Requin" (1885) - stricken 1920.
** "Terrible" (1887) - stricken 1911.* "Jemmapes class" turret ships 6,476 tons.
** "Jemmapes" (1892) - hulked 1911.
** "'Valmy" (1892) - stricken 1911.* "Bouvines class" turret ships 6,681 tons.
** "Amiral Tréhouart" (1893) - stricken 1922.
** "Bouvines" (1892) - stricken 1920.Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/france/battleships/french_battleship_index.htm Maritimequest French battleship photo index]
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