France Founders
France Founders
The Marine Nationale had also discovered the light battleship, quite independently of the Italians. Although she had one more dreadnought than Italy, France lacked a direct counter to the fast and powerful Caracciolo. A single 36,000-ton ship was proposed in 1922, but the costs associated with building it and a new 15” or 16” gun were too high at that time.
Three of the obsolete ‘Dantons’ were hastily decommissioned after the signing of the Washington Treaty; their only value had been to support the rationale for a large French battleship tonnage.
The other two were more useful, as Verginaud became a partially armed training ship, and Voltaire would continue to see service for many years as France’s first aircraft carrier. Stripped of her armour belt and turrets, she could meet the 16,000-ton Treaty limit. She had a single hangar added amidships with a capacity of up to 22 planes, and a landing and take-off deck of just over 380’ in length. The funnels were ducted over to port, and several deckhouse arrangements were tried over the following years. She was never more than an experiment, but proved to be a useful start, and was certainly a cheaper option than the new-build carrier that had also been proposed.
However, the loss of the battleship France in August 1922 and a series of minor mutinies left the fleet demoralised, although clemency for the mutineers and an agreement to improve the sailors' lot went a long way to restore basic trust. Beside pay and conditions, new ships were needed. A trio of 7,500-ton cruisers armed with eight 6.1” guns had already been authorised, and in November construction of a pair of 10,000-ton cruisers was agreed, with each to be armed with eight 8” guns.
That was a small first step, but it was the best that could be accomplished in 1922. However, the loss of the France had focused minds back onto the issue of capital ships. Both French and Italian navies now had six dreadnoughts each, and the Italian ships were slightly more modern and more powerful.
Heavy battleships were too expensive and could only be built in tiny numbers, and so quite independently of the Italians, in 1923 French naval architects started development of a ‘light battleship’.
Before the war, ambitious naval expansion plans had been set in motion. All these had been suspended in 1914, but a number of guns and equipment for turrets still existed. As in Italy, the use of guns and part-complete quadruple turrets from pre-war orders would help to keep costs in check. Originally, only a single ship as a replacement for the France was proposed, but as news of the new Italian construction reached Paris, a second ship was added in 1924, and a third was added in 1925 in place of an 8” cruiser.
With one turret forward and one aft, the ‘Lille’ class were odd-looking ships. Like their Italian counterparts they used machinery derived from new French cruisers, in their case the ‘Duquesne’ class.
In other ways, they were a more advanced design than the Italian ships. The 240mm belt was external, but was inclined with the side of the hull at 11-degrees, in an arrangement reminiscent of the British Hood. A shallow bulge was present below the belt, and a fine hull gave excellent performance at the cost of being wet forward in Atlantic conditions.
Their 340mm guns were an improvement on those fitted to the ‘Bretagne’ class battleships. The Model 1912M fired a longer shell with a 5/infinity-crh nosecone and a weight of 1,221lbs. The quadruple turrets were modified to allow a 23-degree elevation; rather low by modern standards, but with the new shell, maximum range was a very adequate 28,000 yards.
Officially, the ships were listed as 22,950 tons Standard, although the design as approved was 23,150 tons, with weight reductions expected during construction. It remains unclear whether these were ever achieved, as trials were run at relatively realistic displacements. In any case, weight was soon added in the form of additional anti-aircraft weaponry, as was permitted under the terms of the Treaty.
Toulon as she appeared in the late 20s
Outline of the Lille class.
LOA: 697’ Beam: 91’
22,950 tons Standard Displacement; 28,000 tons Full Load.
8-13.4” guns, 8-5.1” guns, 4-75mm guns (HA).
9.5” Belt, 3” Main Deck, 10” Barbettes, 12”-3” Turrets, 12” Conning Tower, 1.5” Torpedo Bulkhead.
106,000shp for 31 knots
(Lyon on trials: 113,650shp = 31.16 knots at 26,350 tons, real sea speed 29-30 knots).
The Marine Nationale had also discovered the light battleship, quite independently of the Italians. Although she had one more dreadnought than Italy, France lacked a direct counter to the fast and powerful Caracciolo. A single 36,000-ton ship was proposed in 1922, but the costs associated with building it and a new 15” or 16” gun were too high at that time.
Three of the obsolete ‘Dantons’ were hastily decommissioned after the signing of the Washington Treaty; their only value had been to support the rationale for a large French battleship tonnage.
The other two were more useful, as Verginaud became a partially armed training ship, and Voltaire would continue to see service for many years as France’s first aircraft carrier. Stripped of her armour belt and turrets, she could meet the 16,000-ton Treaty limit. She had a single hangar added amidships with a capacity of up to 22 planes, and a landing and take-off deck of just over 380’ in length. The funnels were ducted over to port, and several deckhouse arrangements were tried over the following years. She was never more than an experiment, but proved to be a useful start, and was certainly a cheaper option than the new-build carrier that had also been proposed.
However, the loss of the battleship France in August 1922 and a series of minor mutinies left the fleet demoralised, although clemency for the mutineers and an agreement to improve the sailors' lot went a long way to restore basic trust. Beside pay and conditions, new ships were needed. A trio of 7,500-ton cruisers armed with eight 6.1” guns had already been authorised, and in November construction of a pair of 10,000-ton cruisers was agreed, with each to be armed with eight 8” guns.
That was a small first step, but it was the best that could be accomplished in 1922. However, the loss of the France had focused minds back onto the issue of capital ships. Both French and Italian navies now had six dreadnoughts each, and the Italian ships were slightly more modern and more powerful.
Heavy battleships were too expensive and could only be built in tiny numbers, and so quite independently of the Italians, in 1923 French naval architects started development of a ‘light battleship’.
Before the war, ambitious naval expansion plans had been set in motion. All these had been suspended in 1914, but a number of guns and equipment for turrets still existed. As in Italy, the use of guns and part-complete quadruple turrets from pre-war orders would help to keep costs in check. Originally, only a single ship as a replacement for the France was proposed, but as news of the new Italian construction reached Paris, a second ship was added in 1924, and a third was added in 1925 in place of an 8” cruiser.
With one turret forward and one aft, the ‘Lille’ class were odd-looking ships. Like their Italian counterparts they used machinery derived from new French cruisers, in their case the ‘Duquesne’ class.
In other ways, they were a more advanced design than the Italian ships. The 240mm belt was external, but was inclined with the side of the hull at 11-degrees, in an arrangement reminiscent of the British Hood. A shallow bulge was present below the belt, and a fine hull gave excellent performance at the cost of being wet forward in Atlantic conditions.
Their 340mm guns were an improvement on those fitted to the ‘Bretagne’ class battleships. The Model 1912M fired a longer shell with a 5/infinity-crh nosecone and a weight of 1,221lbs. The quadruple turrets were modified to allow a 23-degree elevation; rather low by modern standards, but with the new shell, maximum range was a very adequate 28,000 yards.
Officially, the ships were listed as 22,950 tons Standard, although the design as approved was 23,150 tons, with weight reductions expected during construction. It remains unclear whether these were ever achieved, as trials were run at relatively realistic displacements. In any case, weight was soon added in the form of additional anti-aircraft weaponry, as was permitted under the terms of the Treaty.
Toulon as she appeared in the late 20s
Outline of the Lille class.
LOA: 697’ Beam: 91’
22,950 tons Standard Displacement; 28,000 tons Full Load.
8-13.4” guns, 8-5.1” guns, 4-75mm guns (HA).
9.5” Belt, 3” Main Deck, 10” Barbettes, 12”-3” Turrets, 12” Conning Tower, 1.5” Torpedo Bulkhead.
106,000shp for 31 knots
(Lyon on trials: 113,650shp = 31.16 knots at 26,350 tons, real sea speed 29-30 knots).