The Normandie class consisted of five dreadnought battleships ordered for the French Navy in 1912–1913. It comprised Normandie, the lead ship, Flandre, Gascogne, Languedoc, and Béarn. The design incorporated a radical arrangement for the twelve 340 mm (13.4 in) main battery guns: three quadruple-gun turrets, the first of their kind, as opposed to the twin-gun turrets used by most other navies. The first four ships were also equipped with an unusual hybrid propulsion system that used both steam turbines and triple-expansion steam engines to increase fuel efficiency.
The Andrea Doria class was a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Italian Navy between 1912 and 1916. The two ships—Andrea Doria and Duilio—were completed during World War I. The class was an incremental improvement over the preceding Conte di Cavour class. Like the earlier ships, Andrea Doria and Duilio were armed with a main battery of thirteen 305-millimeter (12.0 in) guns.
The Lyon class was a set of battleships planned for the French Navy in 1913, with construction scheduled to begin in 1915. The class was to have comprised four ships, named Lyon, Lille, Duquesne, and Tourville. The first two were named for cities in France, and the latter pair honored the French admirals Abraham Duquesne and Anne Hilarion de Tourville. The Lyon class' design was an improvement on the previous Normandie class, utilizing a fourth quadruple-gun turret to mount a total of sixteen 34 cm (13.4 in) guns. Construction on the Lyons was cancelled due to the August 1914 outbreak of World War I, before any of the ships were laid down.
Ernest Renan was an armored cruiser built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, she participated in the hunt for the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and then joined the blockade of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic. She took part in the Battle of Antivari later in August, and the seizure of Corfu in January 1916, but saw no further action during the war. After the war, the British and French intervened in the Russian Civil War; this included a major naval deployment to the Black Sea, which included Ernest Renan. She served as a training ship in the late 1920s before she was sunk as a target ship in the 1930s.
Montcalm was a Gueydon-class armoured cruiser built for the French Navy in the 1890s. The ship saw service during World War I in the Pacific. Following the war, Montcalm was used as an accommodation ship. In 1934, the vessel was renamed Trémintin and was sunk during World War II by British aircraft.
The French cruiser Gloire was one of five Gloire-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Fitted with a mixed armament of 194-millimeter (7.6 in) and 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were designed for service with the fleet. Completed in 1904, Gloire joined her sister ships in the Northern Squadron, usually serving as a flagship. She participated in the French bombardment of Casablanca, Morocco, in 1907, and was briefly assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1910–1911. Gloire became a training ship in late 1913.
The French cruiser Marseillaise was one of five Gloire-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Fitted with a mixed armament of 194-millimeter (7.6 in) and 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were designed for service with the battle fleet. Completed in 1903, Marseillaise joined her sister ships in the Northern Squadron. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron the following year where she served as a flagship, but rejoined the Northern Squadron in 1908. Together with two of her sisters, the ship returned to the Mediterranean the following year, but was assigned to the 2nd Squadron in 1911, as the units based in northwestern France had been renamed.
The Gloire class consisted of five armored cruisers built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Fitted with a mixed armament of 194-millimeter (7.6 in) and 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were designed for service with the fleet. After their completion in 1903–1904, the five sister ships were initially assigned to the Northern Squadron, often serving as flagships. Sully was transferred to the Far Eastern Squadron shortly afterwards and was wrecked when she struck an uncharted rock in February 1905. Marseillaise and Condé were transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1905–1906. The surviving sisters were generally divided between the Northern and Mediterranean Squadrons until a reorganization in 1910 caused all but Amiral Aube to be concentrated in the Mediterranean. The following year another reorganization reduced Amiral Aube to reserve and her sisters were transferred to the 2nd Light Squadron, as the Northern Squadron had been renamed. Gloire became a training ship in 1913 and Amiral Aube was reactivated to replace her. Condé was transferred to the French West Indies in early 1914 where she could monitor events during the Mexican Revolution.
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.
The French cruiser Gueydon was the name ship of her class of armoured cruisers built for the French Navy in the 1890s.
The French cruiser Dupleix was the lead ship of her class of three armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Designed for overseas service and armed with eight 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were smaller and less powerfully armed than their predecessors. Completed in 1903, Dupleix was initially assigned to the Atlantic Division as its flagship. The ship spent 1906 to 1909 in reserve before she was sent to the Far East in 1910, again serving as a flagship.
The Edgar Quinet class was the last type of armored cruiser built for the French Navy. The two ships of this class—Edgar Quinet and Waldeck-Rousseau—were built between 1905 and 1911. They were based on the previous cruiser, Ernest Renan, the primary improvement being a more powerful uniform main battery of 194 mm (7.6 in) guns. The Edgar Quinet class was the most powerful type of armored cruiser built in France, but they entered service more than two years after the British battlecruiser HMS Invincible, which, with its all-big-gun armament, had rendered armored cruisers obsolescent.
The Dupleix class consisted of three armored cruisers built for the French Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. Designed for overseas service and armed with eight 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the three ships of the class were smaller and less powerfully armed than their predecessors.
The French cruiser Sully was one of five armored cruisers of the Gloire class that were built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. Fitted with a mixed armament of 194-millimeter (7.6 in) and 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were designed for service with the battle fleet. Completed in 1904, Sully joined her sister ships in the Northern Squadron, although she was transferred to the Far East shortly afterwards. The ship struck a rock in Hạ Long Bay, French Indochina in 1905, only eight months after she was completed, and was a total loss.
The French cruiser Condé was one of five Gloire-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. Fitted with a mixed armament of 194-millimeter (7.6 in) and 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were designed for service with the fleet. Completed in 1904, Condé joined her sister ships in the Northern Squadron. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron two years later, but rejoined the 2nd Light Squadron, as the units based in northwestern France had been renamed, in 1912, together with two of her sisters.
The French cruiser Amiral Aube was one of five Gloire-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. Fitted with a mixed armament of 194-millimeter (7.6 in) and 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were designed for service with the battle fleet. Completed in 1904, Amiral Aube joined her sister ships in the Northern Squadron. Unlike her sisters, the cruiser remained in the Northern Squadron until she was placed in reserve in mid-1911. The ship was reactivated at the beginning of 1914 and was assigned to the 2nd Light Squadron, as the units based in northwestern France had been renamed, together with two of her sisters.
The Vettor Pisani class consisted of two armoured cruisers built for the Royal Italian Navy in the 1890s. The two ships of the class, Vettor Pisani and Carlo Alberto, were frequently deployed overseas during their careers. The former served in the Far East during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 while the latter was involved in pioneering long-range radio experiments several years later before deploying to South American waters. Carlo Alberto then served as a training ship for several years. Both ships participated in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–12 and played minor roles in World War I, during which time Carlo Alberto was converted into a troop transport and Vettor Pisani into a repair ship. They were both discarded in 1920 and subsequently scrapped.
Dupetit-Thouars was a Gueydon-class armoured cruiser of the French Navy. She was torpedoed and sunk on 7 August 1918 by SM U-62 with the loss of 13 of her crew.
The French cruiser Desaix was one of three Dupleix-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Designed for overseas service and armed with eight 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were smaller and less powerfully armed than their predecessors. Completed in 1904, Desaix was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron before she was transferred to the Atlantic Division the following year, where she served as a flagship. The cruiser returned to the Mediterranean in 1906, but only remained there for a year before rejoining the Atlantic Division. Desaix was in reserve from 1909 to 1914.
Kléber was one of three Dupleix-class armored cruisers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Designed for overseas service and armed with eight 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) guns, the ships were smaller and less powerfully armed than their predecessors. Completed in 1904, Kléber was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron before she was transferred to the Atlantic Division three years later, where she often served as a flagship. The ship was reduced to reserve in 1909–1910 before she was sent to the Far East in 1911. Kléber returned to France two years later and was again placed in reserve.
French Navy 
