Bretagne class
BRETAGNE
Bretagne was the lead ship of her class, laid down before World War I as an improved version of the preceding Courbet class. The ship design improved on its predecessor by increasing the power of the armament, but dock restrictions prevented the ships being lengthened so the turrets needed to be moved closer to bow and stern which made them poor at seakeeping. Bretagne underwent a number of refits in the interwar period, the most extensive being in 1930 when over a period of four years she was converted to oil-firing boilers and had her armaments updated.
The outbreak of war saw Bretagne serving in the Mediterranean, escorting troop convoys between France and French North Africa. After that she entered a refit that saw her emerge in March 1940 with improved rangefinders. She was immediately sent to Canada carrying a cargo of gold bars from the French treasury before returning to duties in the Mediterranean. When German invaded France, Bretagne was ordered to the African port of Mers-el-Kébir.
Following the French surrender, the French ships should have been disarmed under supervision from the German and Italian Navy. The British, recognising the danger to their naval forces if the French fleet were to be captured and used by the Axis ordered the French ships at Mers-elKébir to surrender, join the Free French, scuttle themselves or be sunk by the British fleet. The French rejected the ultimatum so the British opened fire. Bretagne was hit by shells from Hood, Resolution and Valiant which caused critical damage and the ship exploded, rolled over and capsized with the loss of 36 officers, 151 petty officers and 825 sailors. The wreck was salvaged for scrap in the early 1950s.
LORRAINE
Lorraine was laid down in 1912 and entered service in 1916. Like her sister ships, most of her career was spent in the Mediterranean and she underwent extensive refits in the inter-war period. Uniquely, however, Lorraine’s refit saw her lose one of her 340mm gun turrets, amidships, and the space used to house a catapult and hangar space for three aircraft. In 1936 Lorraine was transferred to service with the Atlantic Squadron and it was with this unit she could be found at the outbreak of war. At that point the aircraft using the hangar space were Loire 130 flying boats.
Lorraine’s wartime service started by operating from Casablanca on operations against German surface shipping, but she also took a trip to Bermuda to transport France’s treasury to safety. She entered refit in January 1940 and did not return to operations until April when she was based out of Alexandria. Then she took part in the last Anglo-French naval operation in June when she helped bombard
Italian positions at Bardia. When France surrendered the ship was in Alexandria and she was demilitarised.
In December of 1942 her crew decided to join the Free French and the battleship returned to service, initially as a training ship. A refit in December 1943 saw her fitted with radar for the first time and she took part in Operation Dragoon with the USS Nevada where the two ships were employed in attacking coastal gun batteries around Toulon.
Lorraine’s final operation of the war was in April 1945 where she was focussed on destroying German resistance in Gironde. From 14 to 20 April she bombarded the
Bretagne
Class: Bretagne
Displacement: 23,936 tonnes
Length: 166m (544ft 7in)
Beam: 27m (88ft 7in)
Draft: 9.1m (29ft 10in)
Speed: 20.6 knots
Range: 8,703km (5,408 miles)
Crew: 1,193 men
Armament: 10 x 34cm guns • 22 x 138mm guns • 2 x 47mm guns • 4 x 450mm torpedo tubes Armour: Deck - 40mm-70mm (1.58in-2.76in), Waterline belt – 140mm-250mm (5.51in-9.84in)