French battleship Provence
 The battleship Provence
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Namesake | Region of Provence |
| Builder | Arsenal de Lorient |
| Laid down | 1 May 1912 |
| Launched | 20 April 1913 |
| Commissioned | June 1915 |
| Fate | Scuttled, 27 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Bretagne class battleship |
| Displacement | 23 230 tons standard, 26 180 tons full load |
| Length | 166 m |
| Beam | 26.9 m |
| Draught | 9.8 m |
| Propulsion | 4 shaft Parsons turbines, 18-24 boilers, 29,000 hp |
| Speed | 20 knots |
| Range | 4700 nmi at 10 knots, 2680 tons coal and 300 tons oil |
| Complement | 1133 |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 10 × 340mm/45 Modèle 1912 guns in twin mounts 4 × 47 mm guns |
| Armour | list error: <br /> list (help) Belt 270 mm three decks 40 mm each |
The Provence was a French Navy battleship of the Bretagne class named in honour of the French region of Provence.
Construction
She was built by Arsenal de Lorient, and her keel was laid on 1 May 1912. She was launched on 20 April 1913, and completed by June 1915, when she was commissioned.
Like her sister ships, the Provence was armed with a main armament of ten of the new 340 mm main guns from the cancelled Normandie-class battleships. The main guns were mounted two per turret; two centreline superfiring forward, two centreline superfiring aft and one amidships centreline turret that could fire to both sides.
Service
The Provence served in the Mediterranean with the two other Bretagne-class battleships during both World Wars. She was damaged by British naval gunfire at Mers-el-Kebir and beached to prevent flooding. After Mers-el-Kebir she made her way to Toulon where she was repaired, but was later sunk on 27 November 1942 during the Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon to prevent her from falling into Nazi hands.
On 11 July 1943 the Provence was raised by the Germans,[citation needed] and her main 13.4 in/340 mm guns were removed and used as shore batteries in "Big Willie": a heavy reinforced fortress on the island of Saint Mandrier. This island was located right at the entrance to the port of Toulon, and with a range of 22 miles, the fotress' guns commanded every approach to the port. In addition, these guns were fortified with heavy armor plate bedded into the "rocky sides" of the island.[1]
After D-Day in 1944 she was again scuttled for use as a blockship; in April 1949 she was raised and finally scrapped.
Gallery
References
- ^ Karig, Burton and Freeland, 386.
- Haze Gray & Underway, Battleship Lists (HTML) Accessed 10 August 2007.