french battleship pre dreadnought battleship french_navy built 1890s laid april launched august completed june member group broadly similar battleships ordered response class like half sisters armed main battery guns guns individual turrets speed knots mph spent active career french fleet active squadron later reserve squadron regularly participated fleet maneuvers exercises submarine hit dummy torpedo widely hailed press service outbreak world war saw action conflict ultimately broken scrap design member group battleships built broadly similar design different considered unique vessels 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 earlier vessel named laid cancelled tenure admiral vessel sister ship named modified version class ironclad battleships retirement plans ships entirely redesigned later pair ships earlier cancelled designs fact ships named built shipyard material assembled vessel construction second pairs ships distinct vessels general characteristics machinery meters long perpendiculars beam draft displacement tonnes long tons forecastle gave high forward deck cut main deck level aft equipped heavy military masts 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 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 mounted canon modèle guns single gun turrets amidships ship sides secondary armament consisted canon modèle guns mounted single turrets corners superstructure carried pounder quick firing guns pounders pounder revolving cannons armament suite rounded torpedo tubes submerged ship hull ship armor constructed steel main belt thick amidships tapered lower edge end central citadel belt reduced waterline lower edge belt extended entire length hull belt thick armor main battery guns protected armor secondary turrets thick sides main armored deck thick conning tower thick sides career laid january april launched august completing fitting work commissioned french_navy june delayed completing sea trials boiler tubes replaced safer design following accident aboard tubes following commissioning service assigned flagship commander including conducted extensive cruise june july culminated grand review fleet end july maneuvers hit training torpedo fired submarine created press early summer transferred battleships armored cruisers ship participate annual fleet maneuvers july august following year remained renamed time command rear admiral ship maintained state state reduced readiness minimal crew commission months year reserve reduced crew remainder remained status duration outbreak world war august laid port brest ships retained effective list pending completion new class battleships ultimately stricken naval register sold scrapping year
French battleship Charles Martel