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FS Bretagne (1916)

1916 WORLD WAR 1 WORLD WAR 2

FS Brittany (1916) History

The battleship Brittany served with the French Navy for most of World War I and operated between the two world wars until the beginning of World War II. She was then attacked and sunk by the British Royal Navy in Algeria, fearing that she and the French fleet would fall into German hands.

More than 1,000 French sailors died with her, ending a 25-year tenure and causing a national rift between the two countries.

At this point in history, France has always fallen behind in the "fearless" sea race of world armies. Proven to be the preeminent battleship of the 20th century, the Dreadnought combined a "cannon" design with steam propulsion. The world was quiet at the turn of the century, but the arrival of battleships sparked a new arms race between many of the world powers involved especially Britain and Germany at a time when a nations power was weakened. Intensity is still measured at sea. Dreadnoughts are divided into three categories - pre-dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts, and super-dreadnoughts.

After the long and bloody global conflict that would later become known as World War I, many of these ships were eventually sent for scrappromoted by the ensuing Washington Naval Treaty and given to navies around the world the consent of the great powers.

As if to catch up with the other great powers, the French authorities ordered the design and construction of three battleships named Brittany, Provence and Lorraine - Brittany as the leader of its sister ships. In order to reduce construction time at the shipyard, it is proposed that the new battleships will make full use of the previous Courbet-class battleships.

The main guns were removed from the abandoned Normandy-class battleships.

The Brittany turned out to be an impressive ship. She has a traditional hull with a sharply raised bow. She was fitted with two twin-seat large main turrets at the front and two twin-seat main turrets at the rear. Interestingly, there were ten main guns in total, with a fifth two-frame turret placed directly amidships.

Her superstructure dominates the midship, supporting her twin masts, bridge and twin funnels. Electricity is provided by 18 to 24 boilers and 4 Parson wave turbines. All of this produces a whopping 29,000 horsepower, giving the boat a top speed of nearly 20 knots.

She is over 544 feet long and has a range of 4,700 nautical miles at 10 knots. Her standard crew consists of 1,133 officers and soldiers. Armor protection on the belt is 270 mm. Its three decks are each 40mm thick, and the turret is said to be 170mm thick. Armor plates up to 340 mm were retained for each turret, compared to 314 mm for the conning tower.

When fully loaded, she displaces a total of about 26,180 tonnes.

The armament is centered on the aforementioned main guns, these 10 x 340mm/45 Type 1912 main guns, each with two turret structures. This is supported by 4 x 47mm guns and 4 x 450mm anti-ship torpedo tubes.

The idea that torpedoes on battleships were a large part of World War I ships' armament was partly carried over to World War II warships until eventually torpedo attacks on dedicated submarine platforms were left behind. The medium-range 22 x 138.6 Mle 1910 series surface guns provided additional defense.

After 1935, these artillery systems were reduced to only 14 x 138.6mm Mle 1910 guns and 8 x 75mm/50 Modele 1922 guns.

The Brittany was laid on 1 July 1912 by the Arsenal de Brest shipyard. Upon completion, she was launched on April 21, 1913, and officially commissioned with the French Navy in September 1915.

It gets the namesake "Brittany" from the French region "Brittany Region" from "Brittany Region". ', the westernmost land peninsula on French soil.

Brittany deployed throughout the Mediterranean during the First World War in 1916-1918. Modernization programs from 1921 to 1923 made her a slightly superior warship, partly including the fuel burn system. Further modernization took place from 1927 to 1930. From 1932 to 1935, she went through another program, adding a new boiler rated at 43,000 horsepower, although her top speed was only increased by one knot. She would continue to serve throughout the Mediterranean when World War II began.

Germany invaded French territory on May 10, 1940, and the French nation surrendered on June 21, 1940. The fall of Paris caused many combat troops to be cut off, abandoned or fled. So Brittany sailed for the Algerian port of Mers-el-Kebir to join the rest of the surviving French fleet.

Britain realized the importance of losing France as a continental military ally. The French navy may still be a symbol of power, but at this time it is easy to serve the invading Germans or Italians. There was an urgent need to assure the British government that if the French fleet faced a direct threat from Germany, French sailors would have to sabotage their ships in the public interest.

The British Admiralty ordered assurances that France would take such action. Captain CS Holland of British battleship HMS Hood visited French authorities, including French Admiral Gensoul.

However, any British solution was rejected - France would not hand over their ships to Britain, nor would they join Britain as an ally, nor would they hand over their ships to foreign friendly groups in other foreign ports. The Netherlands set a deadline that came and went after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a final message to the Netherlands urging the matter to end as soon as possible. Finally, he ordered the HMS Hood's guns to fire on July 3, 1940. His crew responded diligently with trained accuracy and expediency.

Swordfish aircraft on the carrier Ark Royal direct the operation from above, consulting the rifle crew to improve the accuracy of subsequent shots. HMS Valiant and HMS Resolution are part of the bombardment.

The Brittany is one of the many ships in the French fleet that remains in port. She also took the brunt of British volleyball and suffered her first blow in her design. French sailors died on the spot in the explosion or were thrown into the sea. Hot oil spills out of the port, dealing more damage to the living who manage to fall overboard. Thick black smoke choked the air, choking those who survived between direct salvos.

HMS Hood's shells penetrated Brittany's deck and hit her magazine, ultimately destroying the ship. According to eyewitness reports from French sailors, she leaned to one side and eventually reversed, sinking within 20 seconds.

Between 977 and 1012, French sailors sank with their ships in battles lasting only half an hour (sources vary). A number of French ships tried to find their way out of the port - some successfully did - but the French fleet proved easy prey in this surprising situation, surprised by the unseen ultimate intentions of the British.

As expected, French citizens were outraged by unprovoked British actions by a country that had been seen as a powerful ally against the Axis powers. The German propaganda machine went into action, using the event to paint the British as a savage race who only wanted to conquer French lands.

The monument eventually disappeared from the suffering of the French people, and forgiveness for the Royal Navy and the British government is hard to find across France.

In Britain and Washington, however, Germany's threat to seize the French fleet was justified in acting decisively. Britain could fight the German navy well, but fighting the German and ex-French navies would have disastrous consequences. The United States was not formally at war with either side at the time, but supported the British actions. In fact, many believe that Britain's actions at Mers-el-Kebir were the impetus for the United States to materially support the British cause. The tough decision proved that the British won the battle, and the Americans rewarded the Royal Navy with the delivery of several mothballed U.S.

Navy destroyers through Lend-Lease. The United States would soon join Britain in the war effort, forging an alliance that would keep the two countries as "friends" for the next seven decades.

Nevertheless, the French fleet was destroyed, and no spoils would await the conquered Germans at Mers-el-Kebir. Meanwhile, Brittany lay on the bottom of the alien seabed for more than a decade.

The ship had to wait until 1952 to be salvaged, and what was left of her fell victim to the scrap dealer's torch.