The Provence was a 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...

 battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 of the Bretagne class

Bretagne class battleship

The Bretagne class battleships were the first "super-dreadnoughts" built for the French Navy during the First World War. The class comprised three vessels: Bretagne, the lead ship, Provence, and Lorraine. They were an improvement of the previous , and mounted ten guns instead of twelve guns as on...

 named in honour of the French region of Provence

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

.

Construction

She was built by Arsenal de 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...

, and her keel was laid on 1 May 1912. She was launched on 20 April 1913, and completed by June 1915, when she was commissioned.

Like her sister ships, the Provence was armed with a main armament of ten of the new 340 mm main guns from the cancelled Normandie-class battleships

Normandie class battleship

The Normandie-class dreadnought battleships were ordered for the French Navy before the First World War. They were named after provinces of France. These ships were never completed as battleships because the war stopped their construction...

. The main guns were mounted two per turret; two centreline superfiring forward, two centreline superfiring aft and one amidships centreline turret that could fire to both sides.

Service

The Provence served in the Mediterranean with the two other Bretagne-class battleships

Bretagne class battleship

The Bretagne class battleships were the first "super-dreadnoughts" built for the French Navy during the First World War. The class comprised three vessels: Bretagne, the lead ship, Provence, and Lorraine. They were an improvement of the previous , and mounted ten guns instead of twelve guns as on...

 during both World Wars. She was damaged by British naval gunfire at Mers-el-Kebir

Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir

The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, part of Operation Catapult and also known as the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir, was a naval engagement fought at Mers-el-Kébir on the coast of what was then French Algeria on 3 July 1940...

 and beached to prevent flooding. After Mers-el-Kebir

Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir

The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, part of Operation Catapult and also known as the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir, was a naval engagement fought at Mers-el-Kébir on the coast of what was then French Algeria on 3 July 1940...

 she made her way to 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....

 where she was repaired, but was later sunk on 27 November 1942 during the Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon

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 :...

 to prevent her from falling into Nazi hands.

On 11 July 1943 the Provence was raised by the Germans, and her main 13.4 in/340 mm guns were removed and used as shore batteries in "Big Willie": a heavy reinforced fortress on the island of Saint Mandrier

Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer

Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Across the harbour from the port of Toulon, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer is home to a fishing port of its own, tucked in to a small inlet....

. This island was located right at the entrance to the port of Toulon

Military port of Toulon

The military port of Toulon is the principal base of the French Navy, sited in the city of Toulon. It holds most of France's force d'action navale, comprising the aircraft carriers Charles de Gaulle as well as its nuclear attack submarines, in total more than 60% of the tonnage of the French...

, and with a range of 22 miles, the fortress' guns commanded every approach to the port. In addition, these guns were fortified with heavy armour plate bedded into the "rocky sides" of the island. In 1944, "Big Willie" was engaged by numerous Allied heavy naval units, including the Lorraine

French battleship Lorraine

The Lorraine was a French Navy battleship of the Bretagne class named in honour of the region of Lorraine in France.- Construction :...

, a sister-ship of the Provence, and after days of duelling with these units, was eventually silenced and taken.

After D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

 in 1944, the Provence was again scuttled for use as a blockship

Blockship

A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to...

; in April 1949 she was raised and finally scrapped.