french battleship pre dreadnought battleship french_navy built 1890s member group broadly similar battleships ordered response class named honour marshal france significantly exceeded design weight suffered stability problems accurate firing guns result considered unsuccessful design served northern career included period flagship withdrawn service outbreak world war following year toulon later towed end gallipoli peninsula november scuttled create protect evacuation allied expeditionary force withdrawing design fourth member group battleships built broadly similar design different considered unique vessels ship formed basis ships design specifications identical ships different engineers designed vessel ships based previous battleship instead mounting main battery centerline ships arrangement earlier vessel moved main battery guns single turrets wings ships built response class battleships general characteristics machinery meters long perpendiculars beam draft designed displace tonnes long tons normal load significantly overweight completed displaced tonnes long tons caused ship sit lower water intended partially submerged armored belt built pronounced snout bow improve crew officers enlisted men vertical triple expansion engines driving single screw steam supplied water tube boilers propulsion system rated indicated horsepower allowed ship steam speed knots mph knot slower design speed mph thirds boilers operating economic cruising figures fell ihp mph respectively built carry long tons short tons coal additional space allowed long tons short tons total armament armor main armament consisted canon modèle guns single gun turrets fore aft turret arc fire placement forward gun turret close bow placed great deal weight far forward exacerbated stability problems ship rendered accurate shooting difficult mounted canon modèle guns single gun turrets amidships ship sides secondary armament consisted canon modèle guns mounted manually operated twin turrets corners superstructure arcs fire carried quick firing guns pounder quick pounder guns armament suite rounded torpedo tubes submerged ship hull ship armor constructed harvey steel manufactured main belt thick ran length hull wide belt thick armor bulkheads end armored belt thick main battery guns protected armor secondary turrets thick sides main armored deck thick splinter deck thick conning tower thick sides service laid shipyard september launched nearly years later july completed june time maneuvers conducted july assigned flagship flew flag vice admiral conducted annual training exercises june following month joined combined fleet maneuvers engineering officers seriously injured pipe repair quickly severely escaping steam ship transferred mediterranean assigned 2nd squadron half sister ships august ship participated gunnery trial new battleship mild steel plate centimetres thick measuring centimetres attached forward turret determine resistance armour plate large calibre shell anchored metres away fired number millimetre shells plate training shells knocked splinters armor plate shells fired charges cracked plate turret fully operational electrical fire control system sheep placed turret unharmed splinter struck armor belt left sized hole hull kilogram splinter landed meters naval minister observing trials september assigned ship withdrawn service placed reserve squadron old battleships remained active duty withdrawn placed service reduced hulk year triple launched invasion gallipoli attempt capture constantinople knock ottoman_empire war open route supply russia dardanelles old active service ensuing stalled end having significant progress decided withdraw operation old battleship use towed gallipoli peninsula end year scuttled november form protect evacuation effort withdrew allied expeditionary force january
French battleship Masséna