By 1909, the French Navy was convinced of the superiority of the all-big-gun battleship like HMSDreadnought over mixed-calibre designs such as the Danton class, which preceded the Courbets. The following year, the new Minister of the Navy, Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère, selected a design that was comparable to the foreign dreadnoughts then under construction to be built as part of the 1906 Naval Programme.[1] The ships were 166 metres (544ft 7in)long overall[2] and had a beam of 27 metres (88ft 7in) and a mean draught of 9.04 metres (29ft 8in). They displaced23,475 tonnes (23,104 long tons) at normal load and 25,579 tonnes (25,175 long tons) at deep load. Their crew numbered 1,115 men as a private ship and 1,187 when serving as a flagship. The ships were powered by two licence-built Parsons steam turbine sets, each driving two propeller shafts. Unlike her sister ships, Courbet had 24 Niclausse boilers to provide steam for her turbines.[3] These boilers were coal-burning with auxiliary oil sprayers and were designed to produce 28,000 metric horsepower (20,594kW; 27,617shp).[4] The ships had a designed speed of 21 knots (39km/h; 24mph), although Courbet only reached 20.8 knots (38.5km/h; 23.9mph) during her sea trials.[5] The Courbet-class ships carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range of 4,200 nautical miles (7,800km; 4,800mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19km/h; 12mph).[6]
Courbet was ordered on 11 August 1910[8] and named after AdmiralAmédée Courbet.[9] She was laid down on 1 September 1910 at the Arsenal de Lorient and launched on 23 September 1911. Shortly after finishing her machinery trials, she ferried the President of France, Raymond Poincaré, to Britain for a short visit on 24–26 June 1913. Courbet was completed on 8 October at a cost of F57,700,000 and was commissioned into the fleet on 19 November. Courbet and her sister Jean Bart were assigned to the 1st Battle Division (1ère Division de ligne) of the 1st Battle Squadron (1ère Escadre de ligne) of the 1st Naval Army (1ère Armée Navale), at Toulon in mid-November and Courbet became the flagship of Vice-Admiral (Vice-amiral) Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère, commander of the 1st Battle Squadron, on 5 January 1914.[10]
World War I
By the time that France declared war on Germany on 2 August, Courbet had been relieved of her assignment to the 1st Division because Boué de Lapeyrère had become commander of the 1st Naval Army and the ship was now the fleet flagship. Since the whereabouts of the German battlecruiserSMSGoeben was unknown, he split his forces into three groups to cover the movements of troop convoys between French North Africa and metropolitan France. He accompanied the 2nd Battle Squadron (Group B) to Bougie, French Algeria, in Courbet before rendezvousing with her sisters Jean Bart and France off Valencia, Spain, to escort them to Toulon because the guns of the former were malfunctioning and the latter was so new that she did not have any ammunition aboard. On 7 August, Courbet and the battleship Condorcet took over the escort of a convoy from Algiers and then re-coaled in Toulon.[11]
When France declared war on Austria-Hungary on 12 August, Boué de Lapeyrère decided on a sortie into the Adriatic intended to force the Austro-Hungarian fleet to give battle. After rendezvousing with a small British force on the 15th, he ordered his forces to split with the battleships headed for Otranto, Italy, while the armoured cruisers patrolled off the Albanian coast. Before the two groups got very far apart, several Austro-Hungarian ships were spotted on 16 August, and the Allied fleet was successful in cutting off and sinking the protected cruiserSMSZenta off Antivari; the destroyerSMS Ulan managed to escape. The following day, Boué de Lapeyrère transferred his flag to Jean Bart. On 1 September, the 1st Naval Army briefly bombarded Austro-Hungarian coastal fortifications defending the Bay of Cattaro to discharge the unfired shells remaining in the guns after sinking Zenta. Aside from several uneventful sorties into the Adriatic, the French capital ships spent most of their time cruising between the Greek and Italian coasts[12] to prevent the Austro-Hungarian fleet from attempting to break out of the Adriatic.[13] The torpedoing of Jean Bart on 21 December by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-12 showed that the battleships were vulnerable to this threat, and they were withdrawn to spend the rest of the month further south at an anchorage in Navarino Bay.[14]
Courbet at anchor in Toulon harbour, 24 September 1916
On 11 January 1915, the French were alerted that the Austro-Hungarian fleet was going to sortie from its base at Pola, so Courbet, Paris and France led the Naval Army north to the Albanian coast. It proved to be a false alarm, and they were back at their moorings three days later. In the meantime, the ships patrolled the Ionian Sea. The Italian declaration of war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May, and the Italian decision to assume responsibility for naval operations in the Adriatic, allowed the French Navy to withdraw to either Malta or Bizerte, French Tunisia, to cover the Otranto Barrage. At some point during the year, Courbet's 47mm guns were put on high-angle mountings to allow them to be used as anti-aircraft (AA) guns. They were later supplemented by a pair of 75mm (3in) Mle 1891 G guns on anti-aircraft mounts. On 27 April 1916, the French began using the port of Argostoli on the Greek island of Cephalonia as a base. Around this time, many men from the battleships' crews were transferred to anti-submarine ships. At the beginning of 1917, the French began to use the Greek island of Corfu as well, but shortages of coal severely limited the battleships' ability to go to sea. In 1918, they were almost immobile, leaving Corfu only for maintenance and repairs. On 1 July, the Naval Army was reorganised with Courbet, Paris and Jean Bart assigned to the 2nd Battle Division of the 1st Battle Squadron. At some point during the year, Courbet's mainmast was shortened and a motorised winch was installed to allow her to operate a kite balloon, but this was not a success.[15]
Interwar years
After the war ended on 11 November, Courbet returned to Toulon for a refit; the ship was briefly placed in reserve before she became Vice-Admiral Charlier's flagship between 6 June 1919 and 20 October 1920. On 10 February 1920, the 1st Naval Army was disbanded and replaced by the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron (Escadre de la Méditerranée orientale) and its Western counterpart (Escadre de la Méditerranée occidentale); all of the Courbets assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron of the latter unit, with Courbet, Jean Bart and Paris in the 1st Battle Division and France in the 2nd Battle Division. Charlier commanded both the 1st Division and the Western Mediterranean Squadron at this time. The two squadrons were combined into the Mediterranean Squadron (Escadre de la Méditerranée) on 20 July 1921.[16]
The following year, she became a gunnery training ship at Toulon,[4] but she suffered a serious boiler fire on 6 June 1923 that required repairs, so she was given the first of her modernisations between 9 July 1923 and 16 April 1924, at La Seyne-sur-Mer. This included replacing four boilers with oil-fired du Temple boilers and trunking together her two forward funnels. The maximum elevation of the main armament was increased from 12° to 23° which increased their maximum range to 26,000 metres (28,000yd). Her existing AA guns were replaced with four 75mm Modèle 1918 AA guns, and her bow armour was removed to make her more seaworthy. A new tripod foremast with a fire-control position at its top was fitted. A Barr & Stroud4.57-metre (15ft)rangefinder was positioned on the roof of the fire-control position and an experimental Barr & Stroud FX2 7.6-metre (24ft 11in)coincidence rangefinder was installed on the roof of the aft superfiring turret, replacing the 2-metre (6ft 7in) instrument inside the turret. She had another boiler fire on 1 August 1924, burning 13 men, of whom 3 later died of their wounds, and remained under repair for the rest of the year.[17]
Courbet and the battleship Provence visited Naples, Italy, on 15–19 June 1925 then rendezvoused with Jean Bart and Paris at Mers-el-Kebir, French Algeria, for manoeuvres in the Bay of Biscay with the Atlantic-based ships that began on the 26th. Afterwards, the assembled ships were reviewed by the President of France, Gaston Doumergue at Cherbourg, and the Mediterranean-based ships returned to Toulon on 12 August. On 1 January 1927, the Mediterranean Squadron was renamed the 1st Squadron. Two weeks later, Courbet began a lengthy modernisation that lasted until 12 January 1931.[18]
This was much more extensive than her earlier refit as all of her boilers were replaced or overhauled: she received six oil-fired du Temple boilers that had been built for the scrapped battleship Normandie and sixteen coal-fired boilers from Normandie's sister Flandre. The ship was only able to reach 18.2 knots (33.7km/h; 20.9mph) at a displacement of 24,748 tonnes (24,357 long tons) during her sea trials afterwards. Courbet's fire-control systems were comprehensively upgraded with the installation of a Saint-Chamond-Granat system in a director-control tower (DCT) on the top of the tripod mast, and all of her original rangefinders were replaced with the exception of the 2-metre (6ft 7in) rangefinders in each turret. The DCT was fitted with a 4.57-metre coincidence rangefinder, and a 3-metre (9ft 10in) stereo rangefinder was added to the DCT to measure the distance between the target and shell splashes. Additional 4.57-metre rangefinders were added in a duplex mounting atop the conning tower and another at the base of the mainmast. The Barr & Stroud 7.6-metre instrument was removed, and a traversable 8.2-metre (26ft 11in) rangefinder was fitted to the roof of the forward superfiring turret. Directors with 2-metre rangefinders were also added to control the secondary guns. The ship's Mle 1918 AA guns were exchanged for seven Canon de 75 mm modèle 1922 guns, and they were provided with a pair of high-angle 1.5-metre (4ft 11in) rangefinders, one on top of the duplex unit on the conning tower and one in the aft superstructure.[19]
On 25 March 1931, Courbet had a breakdown in one of her turbines and had to return to the shipyard for repairs. After running her sea trials on 9–12 June, she was assigned to the Training Division as part of the gunnery school. The ship conducted several gunnery exercises from 4 February to 27 May 1932 before she returned to the shipyard to have her condensers retubed and her two inner propellers replaced. In 1933 and 1934, Courbet and her sister Paris, both assigned to the Training Division, rarely left port. Courbet had her propulsion machinery overhauled in 1937–1938, and the navy took the opportunity to remove her torpedo tubes and reinforce her anti-aircraft armament with the addition of a few Hotchkiss 13.2-millimetre (0.5in)anti-aircraft machineguns. The Training Squadron was disbanded on 10 June 1939, and the sisters were assigned to the 3rd Battle Division of the 5th Squadron. The ships began a cruise on 14 June during which they visited Mers-el-Kebir and Casablanca, French Morocco, before arriving in Brest on 11 July where the division was assigned to the 2nd Maritime Region which was headquartered there, retaining their role as gunnery training ships.[20]
World War II
From the beginning of World War II in September 1939, Courbet and Paris continued training until after the German invasion of France on 10 May 1940. They were mobilised on 21 May with augmented crews and assigned to the command of Vice-Admiral Jean-Marie Abrial for the defence of the French ports on the English Channel.[21]Courbet provided gunfire support to the defenders of Cherbourg on 19 June against the advancing 7th Panzer Division and then covered the evacuation of the town by the Allies during Operation Aerial. The ship sailed for Portsmouth, England, the following day.[22][23]
Courbet was seized there, as part of Operation Catapult, by British forces on 3 July to prevent French ships from falling into German hands after the French surrender in late June. The ship was given to the Free French a week later, who used her as an anti-aircraft battery in Portsmouth, until she was disarmed on 31 March 1941, and used as an accommodation ship.[21] At Loch Striven, Scotland, she was used as a target for the "Highball" bouncing bomb trials between 9 May and December 1943.[24] "Highball" was a smaller version of "Upkeep" used in Operation Chastise, also known as the Dambuster Raid.[25]Courbet remained in use as a depot and target ship until she was earmarked for use as a "Gooseberry" breakwater at Sword Beach during the Normandy landings.[22] The ship had to be towed from Weymouth on 7 June by a pair of British tugboats as her engines and boilers had been removed earlier and replaced with concrete.[26] She was scuttled on 9 June off Sword Beach and was hit by Negermanned torpedoes during the nights of 15–16 and 16–17 August.[22] As such, she was probably the only ship ever attacked by secret weapons of both sides during the conflict.[27] She was slowly scrapped in place after the war; the demolition was completed in 1970.[28]
↑ Sweetman, John (Autumn 2002). "Barnes Wallis's Other Bouncing Bomb Part 2: Target Tirpitz". RAF Air Power Review. 5 (3): 52–53. ISSN1756-1248.
↑ Johnson, Harold; Wilterding, John H. Jr. (2008). "Question 17/44: Normandy Breakwater Ships". Warship International. XLV (2). International Naval Research Organization: 108. ISSN0043-0374.
Dumas, Robert (1985). "The French Dreadnoughts: The 23,500 ton Courbet Class". In John Roberts (ed.). Warship. Vol.IX. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp.154–164, 223–231. ISBN0-87021-984-7. OCLC26058427.
Halpern, Paul G. (2004). The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN978-0-253-34379-6.
Jordan, John & Caresse, Philippe (2017). French Battleships of World War One. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-639-1.
Murray, Iain (2009). Bouncing-Bomb Man: The Science of Sir Barnes Wallis. Yeovil, UK: Haynes Publishing. ISBN978-1-84425-588-7.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Reviseded.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-119-2.
Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN0-88254-979-0.
Whitley, M. J. (1998). Battleships of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-184-X.
Further reading
Curtis, Des (2009). A Most Secret Squadron: The First Full Story of 618 Squadron and Its Special Detachment Anti-U-boat Mosquitos. London: Grub Street. ISBN978-1-906502-51-5.
Dumas, Robert & Guiglini, Jean (1980). Les cuirassés français de 23,500 tonnes[The French 23,500-Tonne Battleships] (in French). Grenoble, France: Editions de 4 Seigneurs. OCLC7836734.
Paris was the third ship of four Courbet-class battleships, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed before World War I as part of the 1911 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean, spending most of 1914 providing gunfire support for the Montenegrin Army until her sister ship Jean Bart was torpedoed by the submarine U-12 on 21 December. She spent the rest of the war providing cover for the Otranto Barrage that blockaded the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Sea.
France was the last of four Courbet-class battleships, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. The ship was completed just before the start of World War I in August 1914. Even though France was not officially completed, 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. The war-weary crews of both ships briefly mutinied, but it was easily put down and she returned to France mid-year. Striking an uncharted rock off the French coast in 1922, she foundered four hours later.
The Courbet-class battleships were the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. These were completed prior to WWI. The class comprised four ships: Courbet, France, Jean Bart, and Paris. 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 Zenta in the Battle of Antivari. Jean Bart was torpedoed in the bow by U-12 on 21 December 1914, but she was able to steam to Malta for repairs.
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 Courbet class, and mounted ten 340 mm (13.4 in) guns instead of twelve 305 mm (12 in) guns as on the Courbets. A fourth was ordered by the Greek Navy, though work was suspended due to the outbreak of the war. The three completed ships were named after French provinces.
Bretagne was the lead ship of her class of three dreadnought battleships built in the 1910s for the French Navy. Bretagne entered service in February 1916, after the start of World War I. She spent the bulk of her nearly 25-year-long career with the Mediterranean Squadron and sometimes served as its flagship. During World War I she provided cover for the Otranto Barrage that blockaded the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Sea, but saw no action.
Condorcet was one of the six Danton-class semi-dreadnought battleships built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. When World War I began in August 1914, she unsuccessfully searched for the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau in the Western and Central Mediterranean. Later that month, the ship participated in the Battle of Antivari in the Adriatic Sea and helped to sink an Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser. Condorcet spent most of the rest of the war blockading the Straits of Otranto and the Dardanelles to keep German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish warships bottled up.
Mirabeau was one of the six Danton-class semi-dreadnought battleships built for the Marine Nationale in the first decade of the twentieth century. Completed in 1911, the ship often served as a flagship before the beginning of World War I three years later. Mirabeau spent the war in the Mediterranean Sea and spent most of her time blockading the Straits of Otranto and the Dardanelles to prevent German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman warships from breaking out into the Mediterranean. She also participated in the attempt to ensure Greek acquiescence to Allied operations in Macedonia in late 1916. Mirabeau briefly participated in the occupation of Constantinople after the end of the war in late 1918 and was deployed in the Black Sea in early 1919 during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. She ran aground in February 1919 off the coast of the Crimea and could not be refloated until some of her guns, armor and boilers were removed. After returning to France later that year, the ship was stricken from the Navy List. Mirabeau was given to a salvage company as payment for salvaging another battleship and broken up in 1922.
Jean Bart was the second of four Courbet-class battleships, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed before World War I as part of the 1910 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean and helped to sink the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser Zenta on 16 August 1914. She was torpedoed by an Austro-Hungarian submarine in December and steamed to Malta for repairs that required three and a half months. She spent the rest of the war providing cover for the Otranto Barrage that blockaded the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Sea and sometimes served as a flagship.
Justice was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy, commissioned in 1908. She was the second member of the Liberté class, which included three other vessels, and was a derivative of the preceding République class, the primary difference being the inclusion of a heavier secondary battery. Justice carried a main battery of four 305 mm (12 in) guns, like the République, but mounted ten 194 mm (7.6 in) guns for her secondary armament in place of the 164 mm (6.5 in) guns of the earlier vessels. Like many late pre-dreadnought designs, Justice was completed after the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought had entered service, rendering her obsolescent.
Vérité was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy in the mid-1900s. She was the second member of the Liberté class, which included three other vessels and was a derivative of the preceding République class, with the primary difference being the inclusion of a heavier secondary battery. Vérité carried a main battery of four 305 mm (12 in) guns, like the République, but mounted ten 194 mm (7.6 in) guns for her secondary armament in place of the 164 mm (6.5 in) guns of the earlier vessels. Like many late pre-dreadnought designs, Vérité was completed after the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought had entered service and rendered her obsolescent.
Démocratie was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy in the mid-1900s. She was the fourth member of the Liberté class, which included three other vessels and was a derivative of the preceding République class, with the primary difference being the inclusion of a heavier secondary battery. Démocratie carried a main battery of four 305 mm (12 in) guns, like the République, but mounted ten 194 mm (7.6 in) guns for her secondary armament in place of the 164 mm (6.5 in) guns of the earlier vessels. Like many late pre-dreadnought designs, Démocratie was completed after the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought had entered service, rendering her obsolescent.
République was a pre-dreadnought battleship, the lead vessel of the République class built for the French Navy built in the early 1900s. Laid down in December 1901, she was launched in September 1902 and commissioned in January 1907. Armed with a main battery of four 305 mm (12.0 in) guns, she was outclassed before even entering service by the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought, that had been commissioned the previous December and was armed with a battery of ten guns of the same caliber. Though built to an obsolescent design, République proved to be a workhorse of the French fleet, particularly during World War I.
Patrie was the second and final member of the République class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the French Navy built between her keel laying in April 1902 and her commissioning in July 1907. Armed with a main battery of four 305 mm (12.0 in) guns, she was outclassed before even entering service by the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought, that had been commissioned the previous December and was armed with a battery of ten guns of the same caliber. Though built to an obsolescent design, Patrie proved to be a workhorse of the French fleet, particularly during World War I.
The République class consisted of a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships—République, the lead ship, and Patrie—built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. They were ordered as part of a naval expansion program directed at countering German warship construction authorized by the German Naval Law of 1898. The French program called for six new battleships; the last four became the very similar Liberté class. République and Patrie, designed by Louis-Émile Bertin, were a significant improvement over previous French battleships. They carried a similar offensive armament of four 305 mm (12 in) guns and eighteen 164 mm (6.5 in) guns, though most of the 164 mm guns were now mounted in more flexible gun turrets rather than in casemates. They also had a much more effective armor protection arrangement that remedied the tendency of earlier battleships to lose stability from relatively minor damage.
Léon Gambetta was the lead ship of her class of three armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Armed with four 194-millimeter (7.6 in) guns, the ships were much larger and more powerfully armed than their predecessors. Completed in 1905, she was initially assigned to the Northern Squadron where she served as a flagship. The ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1910 and remained there for the rest of her career.
The Léon Gambetta class consisted of three armored cruisers built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Armed with four 194-millimeter (7.6 in) guns, the ships were much larger and more powerfully armed than their predecessors. Léon Gambetta, the first of the sister ships to be completed, was initially assigned to the Northern Squadron where she served as a flagship. Her sisters Jules Ferry and Victor Hugo were assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron where Jules Ferry also served as a flagship. Léon Gambetta joined them there in 1910 and the sisters remained there for most of their careers.
Jules Ferry was the second of three Léon Gambetta-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Armed with four 194-millimetre (7.6 in) guns, the ships were much larger and more powerfully armed than their predecessors. Completed in 1907, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron where she served as a flagship.
Fantassin was one of four Chasseur-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. During World War I, she had to be scuttled by another French ship after being badly damaged during a collision in 1915.
The French cruiser Victor Hugo was the last of three Léon Gambetta-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Armed with four 194-millimeter (7.6 in) guns, the ships were much larger and more powerfully-armed than their predecessors. Completed in 1907, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron.
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