Bretagne-class Battleship

Ships in class: Bretagne, Lorraine, Provence

The Bretagne-class battleships were the first "super-dreadnoughts" built for the French Navy during the First World War. 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. The three completed ships were named after French provinces.

All three ships saw limited service during World War I. After the outbreak of World War II, the ships were tasked with convoy duties and anti-commerce raider patrols until the fall of France in June 1940. Bretagne and Provence were sunk by the British Royal Navy during the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir the following month; Lorraine was disarmed by the British in Alexandria and recommissioned in 1942 to serve with the Free French Naval Forces.