french battleship battleship french_navy built 1910s lead ship class sister ships ship laid july arsenal brest launched april commissioned fleet february outbreak world war named honour french region brittany armed main battery guns spent bulk career world war stationed prevent austro hungarian fleet leaving adriatic_sea saw action remained service 1920s 1930s sisters placed reserve participated non intervention patrols spanish civil war escorted convoys outbreak world war september stationed france surrendered june fearful germans seize french_navy british_royal_navy attacked ships attack hit badly exploded killing majority crew wreck eventually raised broken scrap design meters long overall beam load draft displaced metric tons long tons short tons load crew officers enlisted men powered parsons steam turbines boilers rated shaft horsepower provided speed knots mph coal storage amounted long tons short tons main battery consisted modèle guns mounted twin gun turrets numbered rear placed centerline superfiring pair forward amidships superfiring arrangement aft secondary battery consisted canon modèle guns casemates length hull carried seven hotchkiss guns conning tower roof turret ship armed submerged torpedo tubes ship main belt thick main battery protected armor conning tower thick sides service laid arsenal brest july launched april completed september commissioned french_navy february entering service sisters assigned 1st division 1st battle squadron unit remainder war flagship squadron spent majority time prevent austro hungarian fleet attempting break adriatic fleet presence intended greece increasingly hostile triple later war men drawn crews anti submarine warfare vessels austro hungarians largely remained port duration war saw action conflict leave port entirety severe shortage coal july ship foremast replaced foremast mounted experimental fire control director mainmast shortened allow ship fly captive balloon returned toulon november ship received lengthy refit toulon june october included modifications gun turrets increased elevation millimeter maximum range meters forward millimeter guns removed millimeter anti aircraft guns millimeter guns replaced guns mounted forward superstructure vickers fire control director replaced experimental model equipped meter rangefinder additional meter installed superstructure control guns flagship mediterranean_fleet mid june ship accompanied naval review toulon september placed reserve leaving member class service spent 1920s conducting periodic fleet maneuvers cruises mediterranean french colonial possessions west_africa fleet flagship september received major refit toulon september elevation main armament increased giving maximum range meters forward hull armor removed bow heavy group boilers converted oil firing meter high angle added guns ship resumed position flagship mediterranean_fleet october refit completed assumed role october began refit repair boilers navy took opportunity upgrade fire control systems replacing vickers system french model adding meter rangefinder foremast conning tower modernized torpedo tubes guns removed anti aircraft guns added assigned 2nd squadron atlantic joined fleet exercises azores morocco ships took cruise africa august involved non intervention patrols outbreak spanish civil war patrols lasted april world war outbreak world war september based toulon time italy remained neutral immediate threat mediterranean_fleet december covered convoy traffic atlantic december cruisers destroyers submarines operated middle month task force began return mediterranean returning toulon underwent extensive overhaul lasted march march left france carrying boxes gold bars french treasury cruiser carried boxes arrived halifax april return voyage escorted american merchant ships carrying aircraft bought france arrived toulon april april sisters transferred alexandria returned loss following french surrender june french fleet disarmed german italian supervision terms armistice british high command concerned french ships seized axis powers placed service axis navies british_royal_navy prime minister winston_churchill ordered vice admiral commander force french fleet instructed order french vessels join british free french surrender sunk july arrived delivered ultimatum french rejected british ships opened fire hit inch projectiles ship especially credited shells simultaneously british hit ship waterline turret shells triggering massive explosion blew bulkheads doors set stern killing sailors meantime massive hole starboard ship allowed massive water estimated rate tons minute pour flooding prevented complete destruction ship limited fire aft magazines opened air second shell struck waterline aft engine room killing sailors inside damaged internal communication system ship seven minutes later high caliber shells struck time detonated base mast ready use anti aircraft projectiles stored anti aircraft mounts second went central exploding deep inside ship huge fire started leaking oil burning ship thirty seconds ship rolled massive explosion occurred sinking caused loss crew vast majority french naval personnel killed attack initial work aftermath attack allied invasion north_africa november interrupted work work extension military harbor military complex anti atomic ultimately salvaged hull cut big parts raised scrapped ashore
French battleship Bretagne