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Bretagne file photo [5535]

Bretagne

CountryFrance
Ship ClassBretagne-class Battleship
BuilderArsenal de Brest
Laid Down1 Jul 1912
Launched21 Apr 1913
Commissioned1 Sep 1915
Sunk3 Jul 1940
Displacement23,230 tons standard; 26,180 tons full
Length544 feet
Beam88 feet
Draft32 feet
Machinery4 shaft Parsons turbines, 18-24 boilers
Bunkerage2680 tons coal, 300 tons oil
Power Output43,000 shaft horsepower
Speed21 knots
Range4700nm at 10 knots
Crew1,133
Armament5x2x340mm Model 1912 guns, 4x47mm guns, 4x450mm torpedo tubes,
Armor270mm belt, 40mm decks, 170mm casemates, 340mm turrets, 314mm conning tower

Contributor:

ww2dbaseBretagne was the lead ship of her class of French battleships, named after the Brittany region of France. She served in WW1. Originally built as a coal-burning ship, she was converted to partially use oil power in the 1920s, raising her power output from 29,000 to 43,000-horsepower and her speed from 20 to 21 knots. In 1940, upon the German conquest of France, she sailed to Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria. Fearing the French fleet would be used against the Allies, British Royal Navy Force H launched Operation Catapult against the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir first. During the battle, Bretagne was disabled, then sunk, by British naval gunfire. 977 men lost their lives as the result of that battle. The ship was salvaged in 1942 for scrapping.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Jan 2008

Battleship Bretagne Interactive Map

Photographs

Battleship Bretagne at Toulon, France, 1919French cruiser Commandant Teste, battleship Bretagne, battleship Strasbourg, battleship Provence, and battleship Dunkerque at Mers-el-Kébir, French Algeria, 1940
See all 4 photographs of Battleship Bretagne

Bretagne Operational Timeline

1 Sep 1915 Bretagne was commissioned into service.
11 Mar 1940 French battleship Bretagne and cruiser Algérié, escorted by destroyers Vauban, Aigle, Maille Breze, departed Toulon, France. Bretagne had onboard her 1,200 gold bars, while Algérié carried 1,179 gold bars; these gold bars totaled 147 tons in weight. These gold bars from the French gold reserves were bound for Halifax, Canada for safekeeping.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Nicolas says:
30 Nov 2011 01:34:31 AM

Hello,
i have a lot of "bretagne battleship" pictures on my web site. My grand father was killed under the bretagne when HMS HOOD open fire.
It's a complicate story, beetween France & Uk, but i have picture witch could please you.
http://merselkebir.unblog.fr/navires-anglais/
You will see some of the english warships witch where present during the Catapult operation, but a lot of, are missing ... please help me.
Best regards from the west county of France called "Bretagne".
2. Nicolas says:
30 Nov 2011 06:23:37 AM

sorry
for the bretagne battleship and other french battleships, follow this link
***********************************
http://merselkebir.unblog.fr/navires-francais/
***********************************
twitter : merselkebir1940
Nicolas
3. hiro says:
31 Mar 2021 02:23:28 AM

please add july 1940 as date operation catapult both in article and after gold mission in timeline. tnx.

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Event(s) Participated:
» British Attacks on the French Fleet

Battleship Bretagne Photo Gallery
Battleship Bretagne at Toulon, France, 1919French cruiser Commandant Teste, battleship Bretagne, battleship Strasbourg, battleship Provence, and battleship Dunkerque at Mers-el-Kébir, French Algeria, 1940
See all 4 photographs of Battleship Bretagne


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