Courbet class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Courbet class battleships were the first dreadnought
s built for the French Navy
before World War I
. The class comprised four ships: , , , and . All four ships were deployed to the Mediterranean Sea
for the entirety of World War I
, spending most of their time escorting French troop convoys from North Africa and covering the Otranto Barrage
. An Anglo-French fleet led by Courbet succeeded in sinking the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser
on 16 August 1914. Jean Bart was torpedoed in the bow by on 21 December 1914, but she was able to steam to Malta
for repairs.
France sank after striking a rock in Quiberon Bay
in 1922. Between the wars the surviving ships were modernised several times, but they were not rebuilt thoroughly enough to prevent them from becoming obsolete in comparison to modern German or Italian battleships. They were relegated to training duties during the 1930s
. Courbet and Paris escaped to Portsmouth
where they became depot and accommodation ships after the French armistice in 1940. Jean Bart was demilitarised, renamed Océan, and became a school hulk
in Toulon
. She was captured there
on 27 November 1942, although she was not scuttled. She was used for experiments with large shaped charge
warheads by the Germans until she was sunk by the Allies in 1944, later broken up in place in 1945. Courbet was scuttled on 9 June 1944 as a breakwater for the Mulberry harbour
used during the Battle of Normandy
.
s before they got within torpedo range.
of 27 metre and at full load a draft of 9.04 metre at the bow. The ships were significantly heavier than the previous ; the Courbet class ships displaced 23475 tonnes (23,104.2 LT) at standard load and 25579 tonnes (25,174.9 LT) at full load, over 5000 tonnes (4,921 LT) more than the earlier ships.The Danton class battleships displaced 18,318 tons at the designed weight, and 19,763 tons at full load. See: Conway's, p. 196
These ships proved to be rather wet in service, as they were bow-heavy because of the superimposed turrets forward.
direct-drive steam turbine
s which were rated at 28000 shp. Each ship had twenty-four Belleville water-tube
or Niclausse boilers, eight small and sixteen large. The large boilers were in the two forward boiler rooms and the small boilers were in the rear boiler room; each boiler room housed eight boilers. These boilers were coal-burning with auxiliary oil sprayers. They had a top speed of 21 knots, although all four were faster during trials. The ships carried up to 2700 long tons (2,743 t) of coal and 906 long tons (921 t) of oil. They could steam for 4200 nautical miles (7,778.4 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s).
45-calibre guns were mounted in six twin gun turret
s, with two turrets superimposed fore and aft, and one on each flank of the ship. The guns had a maximum elevation of only 12°. They fired 432 kilograms (952.4 lb) armour-piercing
projectiles at a muzzle velocity
of 783 m/s (2,568.9 ft/s) at a rate of 1.5–2 rounds per minute. At maximum elevation, this provided a maximum range of only 13500 m (14,763.8 yd). The guns were provided with 100 shells each.
The ships' secondary armament consisted of twenty-two 138 mm Mle 1910
guns, mounted in casemate
s. The guns fired 39.5 kilograms (87.1 lb) semi-armour-piercing shells at a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s (2,755.9 ft/s). The guns could be elevated to 15°, which provided a maximum range of less than 16000 metres (17,497.8 yd). They had a rate of fire of 5–6 rounds per minute and each gun provided with 275 rounds. The rearmost guns were very low and were often washed out in any kind of sea. The ships also carried four 47 mm (1.9 in) Modèle 1902 Hotchkiss gun
s, two on each beam. The Courbet class ships were also armed with four 450 mm (17.7 in) submerged Modèle 1909 torpedo tube
s for which they carried twelve torpedoes.
Fire control arrangements were very primitive and the Courbets were only provided with one 2.74 m (9 ft) rangefinder
on each side of the conning tower
. Each turret had 1.37 m (4.5 ft) rangefinder under an armoured hood at the rear of the turret.
, on a state visit to Saint Petersburg
, Russia
in July 1914. They were returning from Russia when World War I began, but made it to France without encountering German ships.
of Admiral
Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère
, commander of the French Mediterranean Fleet. Lapeyrère decided immediately on a sweep into the Adriatic to surprise the Austrian vessels enforcing a blockade of Montenegro
. The Anglo-French force, which included Jean Bart, succeeded in cutting off and sinking the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser
off Bar
on 16 August 1914, although her accompanying destroyer managed to escape. They spent most of the rest of 1914 providing gunfire support for the Montenegrin Army until hit Jean Bart on 21 December with one torpedo in the wine store just in front of the forward magazine
off Sazan Island
. She was able to steam to Malta
on her own for repairs that required three and a half months, but this forced the battleships to fall back to either Malta or Bizerte
. After the French occupied the neutral Greek island of Corfu
in 1916 they moved forward to Corfu and Argostoli
, but their activities were very limited as many of their crews were used to man anti-submarine ships.
The survivors were refitted several times during the interwar period to remedy these issues, although no comprehensive modernisation was ever planned. These included installation of director control mounted in new tripod foremasts, replacement of the rangefinder
s by larger units, the addition of more rangefinders, the alteration of the main gun turrets to allow elevation up to 23°, partial replacement of the coal-fired boilers by oil-fired units, the replacement of the direct-drive turbines by geared turbines, the removal of the bow armour to reduce the weight forward, and the addition of more modern anti-aircraft guns.
from the advancing Bolshevik
s, the crews of France and Jean Bart mutinied
, but collapsed when Vice-Admiral Jean-Françoise-Charles Amet agreed to meet their main demand to take the ships home. 26 crewmen on France and three on Jean Bart were sentenced to prison terms upon her return, although they were commuted in 1922 as part of a bargain between Prime Minister
Raymond Poincaré
and the parties of the Left.
In 1922, France was wrecked after striking an uncharted rock in Quiberon Bay at low tide and foundered with three deaths among her crew. Jean Bart received the first stage of her modernisation between 12 October 1923 and 29 January 1925. She underwent the second stage between 7 August 1929 and 28 September 1931. Her condition was poor, even after the earlier refits so she was demilitarised and became a training ship in Toulon
in 1936. She was renamed Océan in 1937 to release her name for the new .
Courbet became flagship of Vice-Amiral Charlier between 6 June 1919 and 20 October 1920. The following year she became a gunnery training ship at Toulon, but she suffered a serious boiler fire in June 1923 that caused her to be repaired and given the first of her upgrades between July and April 1924 at La Seyne-sur-Mer
. She had another boiler fire in August 1924 and remained under repair for the rest of the year, but resumed her duties as a gunnery training ship upon her return from the dockyard. She was refitted again between January 1927 and January 1931. She was transferred from the gunnery school to the navigation school in 1937, before her final prewar refit between April 1937 to September 1938. By 1939 she reverted back to her role as a gunnery training ship, but she was ordered to Brest
and Quiberon
with her sister Paris upon the outbreak of World War II
.
Paris was sent to Pula
on 12 December 1918 to supervise the surrendered Austro-Hungarian fleet where she remained until 25 March 1919. She provided cover for Greek troops during the Occupation of İzmir
(Smyrna) from May 1919 before returning to Toulon on 30 June. She received the first of her upgrades at Brest between October 1922 and November 1923. She supported an amphibious landing at Al Hoceima
by Spanish troops during the summer of 1925 after the Rifs
attacked French Morocco
during the Third Rif War
. She destroyed coast defense batteries there despite taking light damage from six hits and remained there until October as the flagship of the French forces. She received the second of her upgrades from 16 August 1927 to 15 January 1929 at Toulon. She resumed her role as flagship of the 2nd Division of the 1st Squadron of the Mediterranean Squadron until 1 October 1931 when she became a training ship.
outfits were augmented at Cherbourg. Courbet was ordered to provide gunfire support to the defenders of Cherbourg against the advancing 7th Panzer Division and covered the evacuation of the town by the Allies while Paris supported the defenders of Le Havre
. Lack of spotting aircraft meant that neither ship was particularly effective in that role.
Paris was damaged by a German bomb on 11 June and sailed for Cherbourg for emergency repairs that night. She was later transferred to Brest on 14 June and evacuated 2800 men when she sailed for Plymouth on 18 June at a speed of 7 kn (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph). She was seized there on 3 July by the Royal Navy
as part of Operation Catapult, Winston Churchill
's plan to prevent the French Navy
from falling into German hands. She was used as a depot ship for the rest of the war and temporarily as a barracks ship by the Free Polish Navy
. She was returned to French control in July 1945 and towed to Brest on 21 August. She continued to serve as a depot ship until she was stricken for breaking up on 21 December 1955 before being scrapped the following year.
Courbet sailed for Portsmouth on 20 June. She was also seized there on 3 July and was turned over to the Free French a week later who used her as a depot and an anti-aircraft ship in Portsmouth until 31 March 1941 when she was disarmed. She remained in use as a depot ship and target until she was scuttled as a breakwater
on 9 July 1944 for the Mulberry harbour
used during the Battle of Normandy
. She was scrapped in place after the war.
Jean Bart was demilitarised and became a school hulk
in Toulon
in 1936. She remained there during World War II and was captured there
on 27 November 1942, although she was not scuttled. She was used for experiments with large shaped charge
warheads by the Germans until she was sunk by the Allies in 1944 before being broken up in place beginning on 14 December 1945.
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s built for the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The class comprised four ships: , , , and . All four ships were deployed to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
for the entirety of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, spending most of their time escorting French troop convoys from North Africa and covering the Otranto Barrage
Otranto Barrage
The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Albanian side of the Adriatic Sea in World War I. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escaping into the Mediterranean and threatening Allied operations...
. An Anglo-French fleet led by Courbet succeeded in sinking the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
on 16 August 1914. Jean Bart was torpedoed in the bow by on 21 December 1914, but she was able to steam to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
for repairs.
France sank after striking a rock in Quiberon Bay
Quiberon Bay
The Baie de Quiberon is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département.-Geography:The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to the north-east and the narrow peninsular of Presqu'île de Quiberon providing...
in 1922. Between the wars the surviving ships were modernised several times, but they were not rebuilt thoroughly enough to prevent them from becoming obsolete in comparison to modern German or Italian battleships. They were relegated to training duties during the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
. Courbet and Paris escaped to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
where they became depot and accommodation ships after the French armistice in 1940. Jean Bart was demilitarised, renamed Océan, and became a school hulk
Hulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. She was captured there
Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon
The French fleet in Toulon was scuttled on 27 November 1942 on the order of the Admiralty of Vichy France to avoid capture by Nazi German forces during Operation Lila of the Case Anton takeover of Vichy France.- Context :...
on 27 November 1942, although she was not scuttled. She was used for experiments with large shaped charge
Shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
warheads by the Germans until she was sunk by the Allies in 1944, later broken up in place in 1945. Courbet was scuttled on 9 June 1944 as a breakwater for the Mulberry harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....
used during the Battle of Normandy
Battle of Normandy
The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Allied forces in Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord in World War II. It was the largest amphibious operation in history...
.
Design
Concerned about underwater hits, the class's French designers decided to extend the waterline armour belt well below the waterline as compared to their contemporaries. The main armour was also thinner than that of its British or German counterparts, but covered more area. Their secondary armament was of a smaller size than the 15 cm (5.9 in) guns used by the Germans or the British 6 inches (15 cm) guns, but the French placed a premium on rate of fire rather than size, in order stop torpedo boatTorpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s before they got within torpedo range.
General characteristics
The Courbets were longer than their predecessors, at 166 metre overall. The ships had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 27 metre and at full load a draft of 9.04 metre at the bow. The ships were significantly heavier than the previous ; the Courbet class ships displaced 23475 tonnes (23,104.2 LT) at standard load and 25579 tonnes (25,174.9 LT) at full load, over 5000 tonnes (4,921 LT) more than the earlier ships.The Danton class battleships displaced 18,318 tons at the designed weight, and 19,763 tons at full load. See: Conway's, p. 196
These ships proved to be rather wet in service, as they were bow-heavy because of the superimposed turrets forward.
Propulsion
The Courbet-class ships had four ParsonsParsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
direct-drive steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s which were rated at 28000 shp. Each ship had twenty-four Belleville water-tube
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
or Niclausse boilers, eight small and sixteen large. The large boilers were in the two forward boiler rooms and the small boilers were in the rear boiler room; each boiler room housed eight boilers. These boilers were coal-burning with auxiliary oil sprayers. They had a top speed of 21 knots, although all four were faster during trials. The ships carried up to 2700 long tons (2,743 t) of coal and 906 long tons (921 t) of oil. They could steam for 4200 nautical miles (7,778.4 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s).
Armament
The French rejected their standard hexagonal configuration for the main armament of the Courbet class. Twelve 305 mm Mle 1910305mm/45 Modèle 1906 gun
The 305mm/45 Modèle 1906 gun was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy.The type was used on the s, mounted in two twin turrets. An improved variant, the 305mm/45 Modèle 1910 gun, was installed on the Courbet class.-See also:...
45-calibre guns were mounted in six twin gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s, with two turrets superimposed fore and aft, and one on each flank of the ship. The guns had a maximum elevation of only 12°. They fired 432 kilograms (952.4 lb) armour-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
projectiles at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 783 m/s (2,568.9 ft/s) at a rate of 1.5–2 rounds per minute. At maximum elevation, this provided a maximum range of only 13500 m (14,763.8 yd). The guns were provided with 100 shells each.
Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1910 Naval gun
The Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1910 was a medium calibre naval gun of the French Navy used during World War I and World War II. It was carried by the dreadnoughts of the Courbet and Bretagne classes as their secondary armament and planned for use in the Normandie class battleships...
guns, mounted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s. The guns fired 39.5 kilograms (87.1 lb) semi-armour-piercing shells at a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s (2,755.9 ft/s). The guns could be elevated to 15°, which provided a maximum range of less than 16000 metres (17,497.8 yd). They had a rate of fire of 5–6 rounds per minute and each gun provided with 275 rounds. The rearmost guns were very low and were often washed out in any kind of sea. The ships also carried four 47 mm (1.9 in) Modèle 1902 Hotchkiss gun
Hotchkiss gun
The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch light mountain gun; there was also a 3-inch Hotchkiss gun...
s, two on each beam. The Courbet class ships were also armed with four 450 mm (17.7 in) submerged Modèle 1909 torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s for which they carried twelve torpedoes.
Fire control arrangements were very primitive and the Courbets were only provided with one 2.74 m (9 ft) rangefinder
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
on each side of the conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
. Each turret had 1.37 m (4.5 ft) rangefinder under an armoured hood at the rear of the turret.
Armour
The Courbet class ships had a waterline armoured belt, 4.75 m (15.6 ft) deep, that was 270 mm (10.6 in) thick between the fore and aft turrets and tapered to 180 mm (7.1 in) towards the bow and stern. It extended 2.4 m (7.9 ft) below the normal waterline. Above the main belt was another belt, 180 mm thick, that covered the sides, and the secondary armament, up to the forecastle deck, 4.5 m (14.8 ft) deep, between the fore and aft turrets. The vertical armour was backed by 80 mm (3.1 in) of wood. Four of the ship's decks were armoured, between 30 and 48 mm (1.2 and 1.9 in) each, although they were built up from two or more layers of plates. The sides of the lowest armoured deck curved to meet the bottom of the lower edge of the waterline belt armour and increased to a thickness of 70 mm (2.8 in). The conning tower had armour 300 mm (11.8 in) thick. The main gun turrets had 290 mm (11.4 in) of armour on their faces, 250 mm (9.8 in) their sides and roofs 100 mm (3.9 in) thick. Their barbettes had 280 mm (11 in) of armour. There was no anti-torpedo bulkhead although there was a longitudinal bulkhead abreast the machinery spaces that was used either as a coal bunker or left as a void.Construction
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient Lorient Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis... |
1 September 1910 | 23 September 1911 | 19 November 1913 | Scuttled 9 June 1944 as a breakwater for the Mulberry harbour Mulberry harbour A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy.... , Normandy |
|
| AC de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"... |
30 November 1911 | 7 November 1912 | 15 July 1914 | Foundered 26 August 1922 after hitting a rock in Quiberon Bay Quiberon Bay The Baie de Quiberon is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département.-Geography:The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to the north-east and the narrow peninsular of Presqu'île de Quiberon providing... |
|
| Arsenal de Brest, Brest Brest, France Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon... |
15 November 1910 | 22 September 1911 | 5 June 1913 | Scrapped in situ In situ In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may... 14 December 1945 |
|
| FC de la Mediterranee, La Seyne-sur-Mer La Seyne-sur-Mer La Seyne-sur-Mer, or La Seyne is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, and is situated adjacent to the west of this city.-Economy:... |
10 November 1911 | 28 September 1912 | 1 August 1914 | Decommissioned 1945, sold for scrapping 21 December 1955 |
Early service
The Courbet-class ships were completed less than a year before the start of World War I and nothing is known of their activities except that France, escorted by Jean Bart, carried the President of the French Republic, Raymond PoincaréRaymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...
, on a state visit to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in July 1914. They were returning from Russia when World War I began, but made it to France without encountering German ships.
World War I
France and the British agreed that the French fleet would concentrate in the Mediterranean to contain the Austro-Hungarian fleet and the Courbet class ships sailed there after the war began. Courbet became the flagshipFlagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère
Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère
Augustin Manuel Hubert Gaston Boué de Lapeyrère was a French admiral during World War I. He was a strong proponent of naval reform, and is comparable to Admiral Jackie Fisher of the British Royal Navy.-Biography:...
, commander of the French Mediterranean Fleet. Lapeyrère decided immediately on a sweep into the Adriatic to surprise the Austrian vessels enforcing a blockade of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. The Anglo-French force, which included Jean Bart, succeeded in cutting off and sinking the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
off Bar
Bar, Montenegro
Bar is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 17,727...
on 16 August 1914, although her accompanying destroyer managed to escape. They spent most of the rest of 1914 providing gunfire support for the Montenegrin Army until hit Jean Bart on 21 December with one torpedo in the wine store just in front of the forward magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
off Sazan Island
Sazan Island
-Fauna of Sazan:Sazan Island contains 7 species of amphibians of which 3 are rare species. The island contains 15 species of reptiles of which 13 are rare species. Some of these amphibian and reptile species include the:* Blue-throated Keeled Lizard...
. She was able to steam to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
on her own for repairs that required three and a half months, but this forced the battleships to fall back to either Malta or Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
. After the French occupied the neutral Greek island of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
in 1916 they moved forward to Corfu and Argostoli
Argostoli
Argostoli is a town and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kefalonia, of which it is a municipal unit...
, but their activities were very limited as many of their crews were used to man anti-submarine ships.
Post-war modernisation
A post-war assessment listed their weaknesses as:
- No director control for the guns
- The elevation of the main guns was insufficient
- Protection against torpedoes was weak
- The horizontal protection against plunging fire was weak
- The anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfareNATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
defense was negligible- They were coal-fired
- The organisation of the crew, the lighting and the method of transmitting orders were old-fashioned.
The survivors were refitted several times during the interwar period to remedy these issues, although no comprehensive modernisation was ever planned. These included installation of director control mounted in new tripod foremasts, replacement of the rangefinder
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
s by larger units, the addition of more rangefinders, the alteration of the main gun turrets to allow elevation up to 23°, partial replacement of the coal-fired boilers by oil-fired units, the replacement of the direct-drive turbines by geared turbines, the removal of the bow armour to reduce the weight forward, and the addition of more modern anti-aircraft guns.
Inter-war careers
In April 1919, while helping to defend SevastopolSevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
from the advancing Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s, the crews of France and Jean Bart mutinied
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
, but collapsed when Vice-Admiral Jean-Françoise-Charles Amet agreed to meet their main demand to take the ships home. 26 crewmen on France and three on Jean Bart were sentenced to prison terms upon her return, although they were commuted in 1922 as part of a bargain between Prime Minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...
and the parties of the Left.
In 1922, France was wrecked after striking an uncharted rock in Quiberon Bay at low tide and foundered with three deaths among her crew. Jean Bart received the first stage of her modernisation between 12 October 1923 and 29 January 1925. She underwent the second stage between 7 August 1929 and 28 September 1931. Her condition was poor, even after the earlier refits so she was demilitarised and became a training ship in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
in 1936. She was renamed Océan in 1937 to release her name for the new .
Courbet became flagship of Vice-Amiral Charlier between 6 June 1919 and 20 October 1920. The following year she became a gunnery training ship at Toulon, but she suffered a serious boiler fire in June 1923 that caused her to be repaired and given the first of her upgrades between July and April 1924 at La Seyne-sur-Mer
La Seyne-sur-Mer
La Seyne-sur-Mer, or La Seyne is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, and is situated adjacent to the west of this city.-Economy:...
. She had another boiler fire in August 1924 and remained under repair for the rest of the year, but resumed her duties as a gunnery training ship upon her return from the dockyard. She was refitted again between January 1927 and January 1931. She was transferred from the gunnery school to the navigation school in 1937, before her final prewar refit between April 1937 to September 1938. By 1939 she reverted back to her role as a gunnery training ship, but she was ordered to Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
and Quiberon
Quiberon
Quiberon is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon...
with her sister Paris upon the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Paris was sent to Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
on 12 December 1918 to supervise the surrendered Austro-Hungarian fleet where she remained until 25 March 1919. She provided cover for Greek troops during the Occupation of İzmir
Occupation of İzmir
The Occupation of Smyrna occurred from 15 May 1919 to 8 September 1922 by Greek forces under the High Commissioner Aristidis Stergiadis in the Smyrna district, aligned with the Allied partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. There were no military hostilities between Greece and the Ottoman Empire...
(Smyrna) from May 1919 before returning to Toulon on 30 June. She received the first of her upgrades at Brest between October 1922 and November 1923. She supported an amphibious landing at Al Hoceima
Al Hoceima
Al Hoceima is a city and port in the north of Morocco and in the center of the Rif Mountains. The Al Hoceima city region has a population of 395.644 and is the capital of the Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate region...
by Spanish troops during the summer of 1925 after the Rifs
Riffian people
The Rifians are a Berber people who inhabit the Rif in northern Morocco. The mother tongue of the Rifians is called Rifian, though many speak Moroccan Arabic, Spanish or French as second or third languages.-Physical anthropology:...
attacked French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
during the Third Rif War
Rif War (1920)
The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...
. She destroyed coast defense batteries there despite taking light damage from six hits and remained there until October as the flagship of the French forces. She received the second of her upgrades from 16 August 1927 to 15 January 1929 at Toulon. She resumed her role as flagship of the 2nd Division of the 1st Squadron of the Mediterranean Squadron until 1 October 1931 when she became a training ship.
World War II
Courbet and Paris formed a Fifth Squadron at the beginning of the war. They were transferred to the Atlantic to continue their training duties without interference. Both ships were ordered restored to operational status on 21 May 1940 by Amiral Mord and their light anti-aircraftAnti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
outfits were augmented at Cherbourg. Courbet was ordered to provide gunfire support to the defenders of Cherbourg against the advancing 7th Panzer Division and covered the evacuation of the town by the Allies while Paris supported the defenders of Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
. Lack of spotting aircraft meant that neither ship was particularly effective in that role.
Paris was damaged by a German bomb on 11 June and sailed for Cherbourg for emergency repairs that night. She was later transferred to Brest on 14 June and evacuated 2800 men when she sailed for Plymouth on 18 June at a speed of 7 kn (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph). She was seized there on 3 July by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as part of Operation Catapult, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's plan to prevent the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
from falling into German hands. She was used as a depot ship for the rest of the war and temporarily as a barracks ship by the Free Polish Navy
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
. She was returned to French control in July 1945 and towed to Brest on 21 August. She continued to serve as a depot ship until she was stricken for breaking up on 21 December 1955 before being scrapped the following year.
Courbet sailed for Portsmouth on 20 June. She was also seized there on 3 July and was turned over to the Free French a week later who used her as a depot and an anti-aircraft ship in Portsmouth until 31 March 1941 when she was disarmed. She remained in use as a depot ship and target until she was scuttled as a breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
on 9 July 1944 for the Mulberry harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....
used during the Battle of Normandy
Battle of Normandy
The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Allied forces in Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord in World War II. It was the largest amphibious operation in history...
. She was scrapped in place after the war.
Jean Bart was demilitarised and became a school hulk
Hulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
in 1936. She remained there during World War II and was captured there
Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon
The French fleet in Toulon was scuttled on 27 November 1942 on the order of the Admiralty of Vichy France to avoid capture by Nazi German forces during Operation Lila of the Case Anton takeover of Vichy France.- Context :...
on 27 November 1942, although she was not scuttled. She was used for experiments with large shaped charge
Shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
warheads by the Germans until she was sunk by the Allies in 1944 before being broken up in place beginning on 14 December 1945.