Bretagne Class Battleship (1913)
In 1916, the British noted that these ships were equipped with anti-torpedo nets.[1]
| 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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[2]
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.[2]
Control Positions
Control Groups
Directors
The ships had no director firing until after World War I.
Torpedo Control
Transmitting Stations
An American naval observer reported that Bretagne had 17 men in her Post Centrale.[2]
Fire Control Instruments
Alterations
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916. p. 118.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lt. Cdr. Herbert F. Leary, quoted in G.B. 436 Investigation, 16 October, 1917.
- ↑ Report from American Naval Attaché, Paris dated 11 March 1922, p. 4.
Bibliography
- Robert Dumas. The French Dreadnoughts: The 23,500 ton Bretagne Class in Warship, Volume X Issues 38-9.
| Bretagne Class Dreadnought | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bretagne | Lorraine | Provence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <– | Courbet Class | Battleships (FR) | Normandie Class | –> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
