Bretagne Class Battleship (1913)

In 1916, the British noted that these ships were equipped with anti-torpedo nets.

Overview of 3 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Bretagne			1913
Lorraine			1913
Provence			1913

Armament

Main Battery

• five double 340mm 45cal guns, arranged on the centreline

An American observer was impressed that a single man could train the turret, as opposed to six to eight men needed in American ships.

By 1922, the American Naval Attaché reported that the elevation of this class's guns had been increased to 18°. It was felt that 23° was to become possible, which would equate to a range of about 23,000m.

Secondary Battery

• twenty-two 138mm 55cal guns in casemates

Other Guns

• four 47mm guns

Torpedoes

• four 18-in submerged tubes

Fire Control

Rangefinders

The Americans reported use of 15 foot Barr & Stroud rangefinders in triplex mountings.

Gunnery Control

The ships used a "cascade system", where the Post Centrale transmitted only to elevated fore and aft turrets, who then relayed the data to the neighboring, lower turrets. In the event that the P.C. failed to send data, the receiving turrets would function as their own mini-P.Cs. and send their data to the lower turrets.

Directors

The ships had no director firing until after World War I.

Transmitting Stations

An American naval observer reported that Bretagne had 17 men in her Post Centrale.

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Robert Dumas. The French Dreadnoughts: The 23,500 ton Bretagne Class in Warship, Volume X Issues 38-9.