French Navy Deployment, Mediterranean 1914 (original) (raw)

French Navy Deployment, Mediterranean 1914

This list of French ships, as of the outbreak of the war was contributed by Yves Buffetaut (ybufto@club-internet.fr), with his own comments interspersed.

La premiere armee navale (1st Naval Army)
Flagship : battleship Amiral Courbet (23,500 t)
1re escadre : 6 Danton class battleships (18,000 t)
2e escadre : 5 Patrie class battleships (15,000 t)
1re division legere : 4 armoured cruisers (13,000 to 14,000 t)
2e division legere : 3 armoured cruisers (13,000 t)
Division de complement : old battleships (12,000 t) : Suffren, Saint-Louis, Gaulois, Bouvet
Division speciale : 2 old battleships, 4 armoured cruisers et 3 light cruisers
6 escadrilles each with 6 super-destroyers
2 escadrilles each with 8 submarines

Escadrilles and escadres can be translated by squadrons, the escadre being bigger than the escadrille.
Legere means light

The only good modern ships were the Courbet and the super-destroyers. The Danton class was made of semi-dreadnoughts ships. The Patrie are less good and all that comes under the name Complement Division or Special Division was near rubbish. The submarines weren't good.

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Last Updated: 10 February, 1999.