French battleship France

France was the last of four Courbet-class battleships built for the French Navy. She ferried the President of France to Russia during the July Crisis. She spent the war providing cover for the Otranto Barrage that blockaded the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Sea. Striking an uncharted rock off the French coast in 1922, she foundered four hours later.

About French battleship France in brief

Summary French battleship FranceFrance was the last of four Courbet-class battleships built for the French Navy. The ship was completed just before the start of World War I in August 1914. She ferried the President of France to Russia during the July Crisis for consultations. She spent the war providing cover for the Otranto Barrage that blockaded the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Sea and sometimes served as a flagship. After the war France and her sister ship Jean Bart participated in the occupation of Constantinople and were then sent to the Black Sea in 1919 to support Allied troops in the Southern Russia Intervention. Striking an uncharted rock off the French coast in 1922, she foundered four hours later. France was assigned to the 2nd Squadron of the 1st Naval Naval Army and escorted a troop convoy to Toulon on 10 October and it entered service the following day. She was the seventh ship of her name to serve in the French navy. The ships were 166 metres long overall and had a beam of 27 metres and a mean draught of 9.

04 metres. They displaced 23,475 tonnes at normal load and 25,579 tonnes at deep load. Their crew numbered 1,115 men as a private ship and increased to 1,187 when serving as a Flagship. The main battery of the Courbet class consisted of twelve Canon de 305 mm Mle 1906–1910 guns mounted in six twin-gun turrets, with two pairs of superfiring turrets fore and aft of the superstructure, and a pair of wing turrets amidships. Their secondary armament was twenty-two Canon de 138. 6 mm Mle 1910 guns, which were mounted in casemates in the hull. The curved armoured deck was 40 mm thick on the flat and 70 mm on the outer slopes. The conning tower had a 266 mm  thick face and sides. They were also armed with four 450-millimetre submerged torpedo tubes and could stow 10 mines below decks. They were designed to produce 28,000 metric horsepower. The ships had a designed speed of 21 knots. The ships carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range 4,200 nautical miles at a speed of 10 knots.