• Large sea-going battleships. The first generation were broadside ironclads; the next generation were central battery ships with some guns in barbette
  Barbette
  A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
  
  s to give all round fire. The French then abandoned the central battery in favour of a narrow armoured belt and a main armament in barbettes. Two French battleships Brennus and Charles Martel were abandoned in the 1880s, in part because it was believed that more money should be spent on high-technology weapons such as torpedo boats. The French adopted the lozenge layout in the 1880s and 1890s, and only adopted the 'pre-dreadnought' layout in the late 1890s. Like other powers the French laid down 'dreadnoughts' before the First World war, but their dreadnought programmes were cut short by the war. During the 1930s, the French laid down new fast battleships; the Dunkerque class
  Dunkerque class battleship
  The Dunkerque class was a new type of warship of the French Navy built during the 1930s, labeled as 'fast battleships'. Not as large as other contemporary battleships, they were designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland class. They had a specific main...
  
   were rivals of the German Scharnhorst class, the Richelieu class
  Richelieu class battleship
  The Richelieu class battleships were the last and largest battleships of the French Navy, staying in service into the 1960s. They still remain to this day the largest warships ever built by France...
  
   were rivals of the German Bismarck class
  Bismarck class battleship
  The Bismarck class was a pair of battleships built by the German Kriegsmarine shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The ships were the largest warships built by the German Navy and the heaviest capital ships ever completed in Europe...
  
  . The last French battleship was scrapped in 1970.

• Stationnaire battleships. These were smaller versions of the large battleships, and were often used on foreign stations where they did the job of a battleship. Development of this type was abandoned in the 1880s in favour of armoured cruisers
  Armored cruiser
  The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
  
  .

• Coastal service ships. The first of these was the steam-powered ironclad 'floating batteries' used to attack Russian fortifications in the Crimean War
  Crimean War
  The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
  
  . More were built in the early 1860s; then they built a series of low freeboard turret and barbette ships, some of which were arguably sea-going battleships.

Broadside ironclads

• Gloire class 5,603 tons.
  • Gloire (1859) - world's first ocean-going ironclad, stricken 1879.
  • Invincible (1861) - stricken 1872.
  • Normandie (1860) - stricken 1871.

• Magenta class
  Magenta class broadside ironclad
  The Magenta class was a class of broadside ironclads of the French Navy.The type was designed by Dupuy de Lôme. The ships carried 50 guns in broadside...
  
   6,715 tons.
  • Magenta
    French ship Magenta (1861)
    The Magenta was a broadside ironclad of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.The Magenta served as flagship of the Mediterranean squadron....
    
     (1861) - sank after internal explosion 1875.
  • Solférino
    Solferino (1861)
    Solférino was a broadside ironclad warship of the French Navy, the second unit of the Magenta class, designed by Dupuy de Lôme and launched in 1861. She was named in honour of the Battle of Solferino....
    
     (1861) - stricken 1882.

• Provence class 5,700 - 6,122 tons.
  • Provence (1863) - stricken 1884.
  • Savoie (1863) - stricken 1888.
  • Héroïne (1863) - hulked 1894.
  • Flandre (1864) - stricken 1886.
  • Magnanime (1864) - stricken 1882.
  • Surveillante (1864) - stricken 1890.
  • Valeureuse (1864) - stricken 1886.
  • Gauloise (1865) - stricken 1883.
  • Guyenne (1865) - stricken 1882.
  • Revanche (1865) - BU (broken up) 1893.

• Océan class
  Océan class ironclad
  The Océan class ironclads were a group of three wooden-hulled armored frigates built for the French Navy in the mid to late 1860s. attempted to blockade Prussian ports in the Baltic Sea in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. participated in the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881. was often...
  
   7,580/7,775 tons.
  • Océan (1868) - stricken 1894.
  • Marengo
    French ironclad Marengo
    Marengo was a wooden-hulled, armored frigate of the , built for the French Navy in the mid to late 1860s. The ship was running her sea trials in July 1870 when the Franco-Prussian War began and was immediately placed in reserve until after the war was over...
    
    (1869) - sold 1896.
  • Suffren
    French ironclad Suffren
    Suffren was a wooden-hulled, armored frigate of the , built for the French Navy in the mid to late 1860s as an improvement over the . Although she was laid down in 1866, the ship was not launched until 1872 and commissioned in 1876...
    
    (1870) - stricken 1897.

• Friedland
  French ironclad Friedland
  The French ironclad Friedland was originally intended to be an iron-hulled version of armoured frigate built for the French Navy during the 1870s, but she was much altered during her prolonged construction...
  
   (1873) 8,850 tons - stricken 1902.

• Richelieu
  Richelieu (1873)
  The French ironclad Richelieu was a wooden-hulled central battery ironclad built for the French Navy in the early 1870s. She was named after the 17th century statesman Cardinal de Richelieu. The ship was the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron for most of her career. Richelieu caught on fire in...
  
   (1873) 8,984 tons - sold 1901, sank in the Bay of Biscay after sale.

• Colbert class
  Colbert class ironclad
  The Colbert class was a class of ironclad frigates of the French Navy...
  
   8,750 tons.
  • Colbert (1875) - stricken 1900.
  • Trident
    French ironclad Trident
    Trident was a wooden-hulled, armored frigate of the , built for the French Navy in the 1870s....
    
     (1876) - hulked 1904.

• Dévastation class
  Dévastation class ironclad
  The French Dévastation class battleships were laid down as part of the 1872 programme. They were a development of the Redoutable ....
  
   10,450 tons.
  • Dévastation (1879) - BU 1922.
  • Courbet
    French battleship Courbet (1882)
    The Courbet was an ironclad first-rank battleship of the French Navy.She served in the Mediterranean squadron, and later in the Northern squadron. She had a sister ship, the Dévastation.- See also :* French ship Courbet for eponymous ships...
    
     (1882) ex-Foudroyant - stricken 1910.

Stationnaire central battery ships with barbettes

• Alma class
  Alma class ironclad
  The Alma class ironclads were a group of seven wooden-hulled, armored corvettes built for the French Navy in the mid to late 1860s. Three of the ships attempted to blockade Prussian ports in the Baltic Sea in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War...
  
   3,513-3,828 tons.
  • Alma
    French ironclad Alma
    The French ironclad Alma was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the late 1860s. The lead ship of her class, she was named after the 1854 Battle of Alma of the Crimean War. The ship spent her early career on the China Station and later supported the French occupation of...
    
    (1867) - hulked 1886.
  • Armide
    French ironclad Armide
    The French ironclad Armide was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the mid-1860s. Placed into reserve after completion, she was first mobilized for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. She spent the rest of her career in the Mediterranean and then in the Far East as...
    
    (1867) - stricken 1887.
  • Atalante
    French ironclad Atalante
    The French ironclad Atalante was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the mid-1860s. She played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, bombarded Vietnamese forts during the Battle of Thuan An in 1884 and participated in the Sino-French War of 1884–85...
    
    (1868) - stricken 1887.
  • Jeanne d'Arc (1867) - stricken 1883.
  • Montcalm
    French ironclad Montcalm
    The French ironclad Montcalm was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the mid-1860s. She was named after Major General Montcalm who lost the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. She played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 where she captured one Prussian...
    
    (1868) ex-Indienne - stricken 1891.
  • Reine Blanche
    French ironclad Reine Blanche
    The French ironclad Reine Blanche was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the late 1860s as an improvement over the armored covervette. She played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was accidentally rammed by one of her sisters in 1877...
    
    (1868) - stricken 1886.
  • Thétis
    French ironclad Thétis
    The French ironclad Thétis was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the late 1860s. She was named for the Greek sea-goddess Thetis. During the Franco-Prussian War she was assigned to a squadron of French ships that attempted to blockade the Prussian ports in the Baltic Sea...
    
    (1867) - stricken 1895.

• La Galissonnière
  La Galissonnière class ironclad
  The La Galissonnière class ironclads were a group of wooden-hulled, armored corvettes built for the French Navy during the 1870s, meant as a heavier armed and faster version of the . While all three ships were begun before the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the construction of the last two ships...
  
   4,585-4,645 tons.
  • La Galissonnière
    French ironclad La Galissonnière
    La Galissonnière was lead ship of a class of wooden-hulled, armored corvettes built for the French Navy during the 1870s. She was named after the victor of the Battle of Minorca in 1756, Marquis de la Galissonnière...
    
    (1872) - stricken 1894.
  • Triomphante
    French ironclad Triomphante
    Triomphante was the third and last ship of the of wooden-hulled, armored corvettes built for the French Navy during the 1870s. Her construction was delayed for years and the navy took advantage of the extended construction time to upgrade her armament in comparison to the lead ship,...
    
    (1877) - sold 1903.
  • Victorieuse
    French ironclad Victorieuse
    Victorieuse was the second ship of the of wooden-hulled, armored corvettes built for the French Navy during the 1870s. Her construction was delayed for years and the navy took advantage of the extended construction time to upgrade her armament in comparison to the lead ship,...
    
    (1875) - hulked 1900.

Barbette ships

• Amiral Duperré
  French battleship Amiral Duperré (1879)
  The Amiral Duperré was an early battleship of the French Navy. She was the first barbette ironclad built by France.She served in the Mediterranean squadron. On 13 December 1888, during an exercise, one of her guns exploded, killing six. She was transferred to the Northern fleet in 1898.From...
  
   (1879) 11,030 tons. Though this ship was designed for sail as well as steam power, her sails were removed before completion. - stricken 1909.

• Amiral Baudin class
  Amiral Baudin class battleship
  The Amiral Baudin class was a type of ironclad battleships of the French Navy.-Design and history:They were built on a design similar to that of Amiral Duperré, enlarged and designed from the start to use steam propulsion only....
  
   11,720 tons, the first French sea-going battleships without any sail power.
  • Amiral Baudin
    French battleship Amiral Baudin (1883)
    The Amiral Baudin was an early battleship of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.-External links:*...
    
    (1883) - hulked 1909.
  • Formidable
    French battleship Formidable (1885)
    The Formidable was an Amiral Baudin-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Marine nationale .In 1890, Formidable was used to experiment captive balloons usage in the Navy. In May 1891, she became the flagship of the Mediterranean squadron. In 1898, she was transferred to the Atlantic squadron,...
    
    (1885) - stricken 1911.

• Marceau class
  Marceau class battleship
  The Marceau class was class of ironclad battleships of the French Navy. They were the last barbette ships built in France.* Marceau...
  
   10,558-10,810 tons.
  • Marceau
    French battleship Marceau (1887)
    The Marceau was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.She served in the Mediterranean Squadron until 1900, when she was rebuilt. She returned to service in 1906 as a school ship for torpedo warfare....
    
    (1887) - BU 1922.
  • Magenta
    French battleship Magenta (1890)
    The Magenta was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy. The ship underwent significant changes during her construction phase including three different sets of main guns and increases in length and width. Like her sister ships she suffered from an over-large unarmoured superstructure that in...
    
    (1890) - stricken 1910.
  • Neptune
    French battleship Neptune (1887)
    The Neptune was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy.She served in the Mediterranean squadron until 1898, when she was used as a school ship, and as a hulk from February 1908.She was eventually sunk as target off Cherbourg.-External links:*...
    
    (1887) - stricken 1913.

• Charles Martel class
  Charles Martel class battleships (1883)
  Charles Martel and Brennus were two French battleships laid down in 1881-85, but cancelled in 1886, at an early stage of construction. They were slightly enlarged Marceaus, but with partial waterline belt armour...
  
   10,600-10,650 tons, slightly enlarged Marceaus.
  • Charles Martel (-) laid down 1883, construction suspended 1886.
  • Brennus (-) laid down 1884, construction suspended 1886.

Stationnaire barbette ships

• Bayard class 5,915-6,260 tons. Smaller versions of Amiral Dupperré, with full sail power.
  • Bayard
    French battleship Bayard (1880)
    The Bayard was an early stationary battleship of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Bayard had a wooden hull and a full rigging, as well as a side armour and steam machinery.- Active service :...
    
    (1880) - hulked 1899.
  • Turenne (1879) - stricken 1901.

• Vauban class 6,112 tons. Improved Bayards.
  • Duguesclin (1883) - stricken 1904.
  • Vauban (1882) - stricken 1905.

Turret ships

• Brennus
  French battleship Brennus (1891)
  The Brennus was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy.She was built after the Jeune École trend of thought fell out of favour. She pioneered the armoured masts fitted with electrical elevators to the tops which became a trademark of French battleships.-Construction:The decision to fit Brennus...
  
   (1891) 11,190 tons, the first large ship with Belleville boilers, - BU 1922.

• Charles Martel
  French battleship Charles Martel (1893)
  The Charles Martel was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy. She was designed before the era of the dreadnought, and at a time when battleship design theory in terms of armour and armament was changing continually...
  
   11,693 tons - stricken 1922.
• Carnot
  French battleship Carnot (1894)
  The Carnot was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy. She was laid down in 1891, launched in 1894 and completed in 1897. She was refitted once in the early 1900s.-Design:...
  
   (1894) 11,954 tons - stricken 1922.
• Jauréguiberry
  French battleship Jauréguiberry
  Jauréguiberry was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy , launched in 1893. She was one of the class of five roughly similar battleships built in the 1890s, including Masséna, Bouvet, Carnot, and Charles Martel; Jauréguiberry and the latter two are sometimes erroneously referenced as a...
  
   (1893) 11,637 tons - BU 1934.
• Masséna
  Masséna (1895)
  Masséna was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy, launched in July 1895 at Ch. de la Loire. She was named in honour of Marshal of France André Masséna...
  
   (1895) 11,735 tons - hulked, then scuttled as a breakwater at Cape Helles
  Cape Helles
  Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
  
   1915.
• Bouvet
  French battleship Bouvet
  The Bouvet was a French pre-dreadnought battleship, launched in 1896 and sunk by a mine in 1915 during World War I.Bouvet, named for the maritime family of Bouvet de Lozier, the most famous being French Admiral François Joseph Bouvet, belonged to the Jauréguiberry quasi-class which comprised...
  
   (1896) 12,007 tons - mined 1915.

• Charlemagne class
  Charlemagne class battleship
  The Charlemagne class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the French Navy. It consisted of three ships, the Charlemagne, the St Louis and the Gaulois. Several other single ship classes were based on the Charlemagne class...
  
   11,100 tons.
  • Charlemagne
    French battleship Charlemagne (1895)
    The Charlemagne was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy. In 1915, along with her sister-ship Gaulois, she took part in the Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign, under admiral Émile Paul Amable Guépratte. She was named after Charlemagne, a famous Frankish king.-Design:The...
    
     (1895) - stricken 1920.
  • St Louis
    French battleship St Louis (1896)
    The Saint Louis was a pre-dreadnought capital battleship of the French Navy. She was laid down in 1893, launched in 1896, and completed in 1900 as the third battleship of her class, the Charlemagne class. The ship saw service in the First World War, and was scrapped in 1933.-Design:The St Louis...
    
     (1896) - BU 1933.
  • Gaulois
    French battleship Gaulois (1896)
    The Gaulois was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy.In 1915, along with her sister-ship Charlemagne, she took part in the Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign, under admiral Guépratte. The French squadron was leading the assault, and the Gaulois suffered hits from the Turkish...
    
     (1896) - torpedoed 1916.

• Iéna
  French battleship Iéna (1898)
  Iéna was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy. The ship's keel was laid in 1898 and she was completed four years later. Her design was derived from the preceding s with a heavier secondary battery and thicker armour. She retained the tumblehome characteristic of all large French warships...
  
   (1898) 11,860 tons - sank after explosion 1907.

• Suffren
  French battleship Suffren
  Suffren was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy, launched in July 1899. She was named after French Vice Admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez. The ship was originally intended to be a modified version of the design with more firepower and better armour...
  
   (1899) 12,527 tons - torpedoed 1916.

• République class
  République class battleship
  The République class was a class of two pre-Dreadnought ironclads of the French Navy.-Design:The République marked a significant evolution in the design of French ironclads, with less significant tumblehome than her predecessors, better sailing qualities, larger size, and more firepower...
  
   14,605-14,900 tons.
  • République
    French battleship République (1902)
    The République was a pre-dreadnought République class battleship of the French Navy. She served from 1906 to 1921. She was moored near the Liberté when the latter exploded accidentally in 1911, and was damaged by flying debris...
    
    (1902) - stricken 1921.
  • Patrie
    French battleship Patrie (1903)
    The Patrie was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy. She was commissioned in December 1906 and served in the French Navy during the First World War, afterwards being converted to use as a torpedo school ship until being scrapped in 1928....
    
     (1903) - stricken 1928.

• Liberté class
  Liberté class battleship
  The Liberté class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the French Navy, an improvement of the République-class battleship of a similar design.-Design and History:...
  
   14,489-14,860 tons.
  • Liberté
    French battleship Liberté (1905)
    The Liberté was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy, and the lead ship of her class. Commanded by capitaine de vaisseau Louis Jaurès, She sailed to the United States after her commissioning...
    
    (1905) - sank after explosion 1911.
  • Justice
    French battleship Justice (1904)
    The Justice was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy of the Liberté class.During her career, she nearly exploded like her sistership, Liberte did, but survived after the captain ordered the magazines to be flooded...
    
     (1904) - stricken 1922.
  • Vérité
    French battleship Vérité (1907)
    The Vérité was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy.After her trails in June 1908, Vérité departed in 18 August, ferrying President Armand Fallières bound for officials visits to Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Norway....
    
    (1907) - stricken 1922.
  • Démocratie
    French battleship Démocratie (1904)
    The Démocratie was a Liberté class pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy. She served in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I, and was scrapped in 1922.-Design:...
    
    - stricken 1921.

• Danton class ("semi-Dreadnoughts") 18,318 tons normal, 19,763 tons full load.
  • Danton
    French battleship Danton (1909)
    Danton was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy and the lead ship of her class. She was a technological leap in battleship development for the French Navy, as she was the first ship in the fleet with turbine engines...
    
     (1909) - torpedoed 1917 in Tyrrhenian Sea
    Tyrrhenian Sea
    The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
    
    .
  • Voltaire
    French battleship Voltaire (1909)
    The Voltaire was a Danton-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy.During the First World War, she was hit by two torpedoes launched by the UB-48, but survived thanks to the compartments of her hull...
    
     (1909) - condemned 1935, BU 1939.
  • Diderot
    French battleship Diderot (1909)
    The Diderot was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy.-Service History:She participated in the Battle of Antivari in 1914 when a French squadron sortied into the Adriatic and attempted to draw the Austro-Hungarian Navy into a fleet action....
    
     (1909) - condemned 1936, BU 1937.
  • Condorcet
    French battleship Condorcet (1909)
    Condorcet was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy; the nature of her armament, which included an intermediate calibre between the main and anti-torpedo armament, has usually meant that, in common with , and the Japanese ships of the Aki class, she is regarded as a semi-dreadnought...
    
     (1909) - deleted 1931, scuttled 1942, refloated 1944, sold for BU 1945.
  • Mirabeau
    French battleship Mirabeau (1909)
    The Mirabeau was a battleship of the French Navy which served during World War I. She belonged to the Danton-class of batteleships, among the last of the pre-dreadnought vessels. The Mirabeau was first commissioned in 1911, and served until she was badly damaged in the Black Sea in 1919...
    
     (1909) - target 1921-22, BU 1928.
  • Vergniaud
    French battleship Vergniaud (1910)
    -Design and production:The Vergniaud was commissioned on 22 September 1911 and served throughout World War I. The ship was the last of the Danton-class of battleships to be commissioned, and as such she was the last pre-dreadnought naval vessel to be produced by France...
    
     (1910) - deleted 1921, used as target for experiments until 1926, BU 1928.

• Henri IV
  French battleship Henri IV
  Henri IV was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy built to test some of the ideas of the prominent naval architect Louis-Émile Bertin. She began World War I as guardship at Bizerte. She was sent to reinforce the Allied naval force in the Dardanelles campaign of 1915, although some of her...
  
   (1899) 8,807 tons - stricken 1921.

Dreadnoughts

• Courbet class
  Courbet class battleship
  The Courbet class battleships were the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy before World War I. The class comprised four ships: , , , and . 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...
  
   22,189 tons normal, 25,000-26,000 tons full load.
  • Jean Bart
    French battleship Jean Bart (1911)
    Jean Bart was the second ship of the s, 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 on 16 August 1914...
    
     (1911) - renamed Océan 1936, disarmed for use as a training ship 1938, used for explosives trials by the Germans and sank 1944, sold for BU 1945, broken up (BU) 1946-47.
  • Courbet
    French battleship Courbet (1911)
    Courbet was the lead ship of her class, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed before World War I and named in honour of Admiral Amédée Courbet. She spent the war in the Mediterranean, helping to sink the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser in August 1914...
    
     (1911) - training ship 1939, taken over by Royal Navy 3 July 1940, transferred to Free French and used as AA guardship, scuttled on 9 June 1944 as part of a Mulberry harbour during the Normandy landings.
  • Paris
    French battleship Paris
    Paris was the third ship of the s, 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...
    
     (1912) - training ship 1939, taken over by Royal Navy 3 July 1940, transferred to Free French and used as accommodation ship, towed to Brest August 1944, used as a pontoon from 1950, sold for BU December 1955, BU 1956
  • France
    French battleship France
    France was the last ship of the s, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed just before World War I as part of the 1911 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean, covering the Otranto Barrage in the Adriatic...
    
     (1912) - wrecked 1922.

• Bretagne class
  Bretagne class battleship
  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 , and mounted ten guns instead of twelve guns as on...
  
   25,000 full load.
  • Provence
    French battleship Provence
    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...
    
     (1913) - sunk at Mers-el-Kébir 3 July 1940, refloated, and repaired at Toulon, scuttled November 1942, refloated 1943, scuttled 1944, refloated and BU 1949.
  • Bretagne
    French battleship Bretagne
    The Bretagne was a battleship of the French Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was named in honour of the French region of Brittany, and was built by Arsenal de Brest...
    
     (1913) - sunk at Mers-el-Kébir 3 July 1940, salvaged 1952 and BU.
  • Lorraine
    French battleship Lorraine
    The Lorraine was a French Navy battleship of the Bretagne class named in honour of the region of Lorraine in France.- Construction :...
    
     (1913) - interned by the British at Alexandria June 1940 - May 1943, then used by Free French, used as training ship 1945-1953, stricken February 1953, BU 1954.

• Normandie class
  Normandie class battleship
  The Normandie-class dreadnought battleships were ordered for the French Navy before the First World War. They were named after provinces of France. These ships were never completed as battleships because the war stopped their construction...
  
   25,230 full load (all except Béarn were cancelled and scrapped after launching).
  • Gascogne (1914) - BU 1923-24.
  • Normandie (1914) - BU 1924-25.
  • Flandre (1914) - BU 1924.
  • Languedoc (1916) - BU 1929.
  • Béarn
    French aircraft carrier Béarn
    Béarn was a unique aircraft carrier which served with the Marine nationale in World War II and beyond.Béarn was commissioned in 1927 and was the only aircraft carrier produced by France until after World War II. She was to be an experimental ship and should have been replaced in the 1930s by two...
    
     (1920) converted to aircraft carrier
    French aircraft carrier Béarn
    Béarn was a unique aircraft carrier which served with the Marine nationale in World War II and beyond.Béarn was commissioned in 1927 and was the only aircraft carrier produced by France until after World War II. She was to be an experimental ship and should have been replaced in the 1930s by two...
    
     1923-27 - BU 1967.

• Lyon class
  Lyon class battleship
  The Lyon was a class of battleship which was planned for the French Navy, beginning in 1914. However, construction was halted and then cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I. No ship of the Lyon type was laid down.-Design:...
  
   29,000 tons full load, planned under 1912 programme, it was intended to place orders with builders in January–April 1915.
  • Duquesne (-) not started.
  • Lille (-) not started.
  • Lyon (-) not started.
  • Tourville (-) not started.

• Dunkerque class
  Dunkerque class battleship
  The Dunkerque class was a new type of warship of the French Navy built during the 1930s, labeled as 'fast battleships'. Not as large as other contemporary battleships, they were designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland class. They had a specific main...
  
   26,500 tons standard, 30,750-31,400 tons normal, 35,500 tons deep load.
  • Dunkerque
    French battleship Dunkerque
    The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
    
     (1935) - damaged at Mers-el-Kébir 1940, underwent temporary repairs enabling her to returned to Toulon in February 1942, scuttled November 1942, refloated 1945, sold for BU 1958.
  • Strasbourg
    French battleship Strasbourg
    The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
    
     (1936) - scuttled November 1942, refloated 1943, sunk 1944, refloated 1945, used as experimental hulk, sold for BU 1955.
• Richelieu class
  Richelieu class battleship
  The Richelieu class battleships were the last and largest battleships of the French Navy, staying in service into the 1960s. They still remain to this day the largest warships ever built by France...
  
   35,000 tons standard, 43,293-46,500 tons standard, 47,548-49,850 tons deep load.
  • Richelieu (1939) - BU 1964.
  • Jean Bart (1940) - BU 1970.
  • Clemenceau (1943) - launched incomplete 1943, hull sunk by bombing 27 August 1944.
  • Gascogne never laid down - cancelled.
• Alsace class
  Alsace class battleship
  The Alsace class battleships were planned to succeed and enlarge the Richelieu class. The design planned for an improved Richelieu design with three triple or quadruple 380 mm turrets ....
  
   (not begun)
  • Alsace (-)
  • Normandie (-)
  • Flandre (-)
  • Bourgogne (-)

Broadside ironclad coastal service ships

• Dévastation class ironclad floating batteries
  Dévastation class ironclad floating battery
  The Dévastation class ironclad floating battery were built for the attack of Russian coastal fortifications during the Crimean War....
  
   built for the Crimean War 1,600 tons.
  • Congrève (1855) - stricken 1867
  • Dévastation (1855) - stricken 1871.
  • Foudroyante (1855) - stricken 1871.
  • Lave (1855) - stricken 1871.
  • Tonnante (1855) - stricken 1871.

• Palestro class floating batteries 1,508-1,539 tons.
  • Paixhans (1862) - stricken 1871.
  • Palestro (1862) - stricken 1871.
  • Peiho (1862) - stricken 1871.
  • Saïgon (1862) - stricken 1871.

• Arrogante class floating batteries 1,412-1.490 tons.
  • Arrogante (1864) - stricken 1881.
  • Implacable (1864) - stricken 1884.
  • Opiniâtre (1864) - stricken 1885.

• Embuscade class floating batteries 1,426-1,589 tons.
  • Embuscade (1865) - stricken 1885.
  • Imprenable (1867) - stricken 1882.
  • Protectrice (1867) - stricken 1889.
  • Refuge (1866) - stricken 1884.

• Rochambeau (1865) ex-USS Dunderberg 7,800 tons, purchased 1867 - stricken 1872.

• Onondaga (1863) ex-USS Onondaga 2,551 tons, purchased 1867 - stricken 1904.

• Cerbère class turret rams 3,532 tons.
  • Bélier (1870) - stricken 1896.
  • Bouledogue (1872) - stricken 1897.
  • Cerbère (1868) - stricken 1887.
  • Tigre (1871) - stricken 1892.

• Tonnerre class turret ships 5,765-5,871 tons.
  • Tonnerre (1875) - stricken 1905.
  • Fulminant (1877) - stricken 1908.

• Tempête class turret ships 4.635-4,793 tons.
  • Tempête (1876) - stricken 1907.
  • Vengeur (1878) - stricken 1905.

• Tonnant (1880) barbette ship 5,010 tons. Originally intended to be similar to Tempête, but redesigned as a small battleship with increased freeboard and a gun at each end in barbettes. - stricken 1903.

• Furieux (1883) barbette ship 5,925 tons. Similar to Tonnant for the same reasons. - stricken 1913.

• Terrible class barbette ships 7,530 tons. Small battleships based on the Amiral Baudin, and intended for operating in the Baltic in case of war with Germany. The British sometimes considered these to be sea-going battleships, and sometimes coastal service warships.
  • Caïman (1885) - BU 1927.
  • Indomptable (1883) - BU 1927.
  • Requin (1885) - stricken 1920.
  • Terrible (1887) - stricken 1911.

• Jemmapes class turret ships 6,476 tons.
  • Jemmapes (1892) - hulked 1911.
  • Valmy (1892) - stricken 1911.

• Bouvines
  Bouvines class coast defense ship
  The Bouvines class was a pair of coastal defense ships built for the French Navy. The class comprised two ships: Bouvines, named after the Battle of Bouvines, and Amiral-Tréhouart, named after the prominent Admiral. The ships were very similar to the preceding s and differed mainly mainly by the...
  
  class turret ships 6,681 tons.
  • Amiral-Tréhouart (1893) - stricken 1922.
  • Bouvines (1892) - stricken 1920.

External links

• Maritimequest French battleship photo index