Charlemagne-class battleship

The Charlemagnes carried their main armament of four 40-calibre Canon de 305 mm (12 in) Modèle 1893 guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft.[5] These were the first twin 305 mm gun turrets to be used by the French Navy. They were rotated by electric motors, but the guns were hand-cranked to elevate and depress.[6] This ranged from -5° to +15°[5] and the guns were loaded at full depression. The turrets had a ready rack holding 10 shells before they needed to reload from the magazine.[7] The guns fired 349.4-kilogram (770 lb) armour-piercing projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 815 m/s (2,670 ft/s)[6] at a theoretical rate of one round every 1.3 minutes.[8] At maximum elevation, this provided a range of 12,900 metres (14,100 yd). The guns were provided with 45 shells each.[5]

The ships' secondary armament consisted of ten 45-calibre Canon de 138.6 mm (5.5 in) Modèle 1893 guns, eight of which were mounted in individual casemates and the remaining pair in shielded mounts on the forecastle deck amidships. The guns had an elevation range between -5°30" and +19°30".[5] They fired four 35-kilogram (77 lb) armour-piercing shells per minute at a muzzle velocity of 730 m/s (2,400 ft/s). This gave them a range of 11,000 metres (12,000 yd) at maximum elevation. The ships carried a total of 2316 rounds for these guns.[5][9]

They also carried eight 45-calibre Canon de 100 mm (3.9 in) Modèle 1893 guns in shielded mounts on the superstructure. These guns could elevate from -10° to +20°[5] and they fired a 16-kilogram (35 lb)[10] shell at a rate of five rounds per minute.[8] With a muzzle velocity of 710 m/s (2,300 ft/s),[10] they had a range of 10,000 metres (11,000 yd) at maximum elevation. A total of 2288 rounds, or 286 rounds per gun, was carried for them in each ship.[5] Their anti-torpedo boat defences consisted of twenty 40-calibre Canon de 47 mm (1.9 in) Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns, fitted in platforms on both masts, on the superstructure, and in casemates in the hull. These guns could depress to -21° and elevate to +24°[5] They fired 1.5-kilogram (3.3 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 650 m/s (2,100 ft/s)[11] at a rate of 12 rounds every minute. They had a maximum range of 4,000 metres (4,400 yd) and were provided with a total of 10,500 rounds.[5]

The Charlemagne class mounted four 450-millimetre (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, two on each broadside. Two of these were submerged, angled 20° from the ship's axis, and the other two were above the waterline. They were provided with a total of twelve Modèle 1892 torpedoes.[12] These torpedoes had a 75-kilogram (165 lb) warhead and a maximum range of 800 metres (870 yd) at a speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph).[13] Beginning about 1906, the above-water torpedo tubes were removed from each ship.[1] As was common with ships of their generation, they were built with a plough-shaped ram.[14]

The Charlemagne-class ships carried a total of 820.7 tonnes (807.7 long tons)[5] of Harvey armour.[15] They had a complete waterline armour belt that was 3.26 metres (10 ft 8 in) high. The armour belt tapered from its maximum thickness of 400 mm (15.7 in) to a thickness of 110 mm (4.3 in) at its lower edge. The armoured deck was 55 mm (2.2 in) thick on the flat and was reinforced with an additional 35 mm (1.4 in) plate where it angled downwards to meet the armoured belt. The main turrets were protected by 320 mm (12.6 in) of armour and their roofs were 50 mm (2.0 in) thick. Their barbettes were 270 mm (10.6 in) thick. The outer walls of the casemates for the 138.6-millimetre (5.46 in) guns were 55 mm thick and they were protected by transverse bulkheads 150 mm (5.9 in) thick. The conning tower walls were 326 mm (12.8 in) thick and its roof consisted of 50 mm armour plates. Its communications tube was protected by armour plates 200 mm (7.9 in) thick.[5]

Turkish defenses of the Dardanelles, February–March 1915

Together with the older French pre-dreadnoughts, the trio escorted Allied troop convoys through the Mediterranean for the first several months of the war. All three ships were ordered to Tenedos Island, not far from the Gallipoli Peninsula of Turkey, in November to guard against a sortie by the German battlecruiser Goeben. Gaulois became the temporary flagship of Rear Admiral (contre-amiral) Émile Guépratte upon her arrival until the return of the battleship Suffren in January 1915.[24] Saint Louis became the flagship of the newly formed Syrian Squadron (Escadre de Syrie) on 9 February. The squadron was intended to attack Turkish positions and lines of communication in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula. Saint Louis participated in the bombardment of Gaza and El Arish in April before she was transferred back to the Dardanelles in May.[3]

During the bombardment of 19 February, Gaulois bombarded Turkish forts covering the mouth of the Dardanelles, although Charlemagne did not participate that day. During the day's action, the ship was hit twice, but was only lightly damaged. The two ships traded positions during the bombardment of 25 February, although Charlemagne was not damaged. On 2 March, the French squadron bombarded targets in the Gulf of Saros, at the base of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Five days later, the French squadron attempted to suppress the Turkish guns while British battleships bombarded the fortifications. Gaulois was hit by one shell during this attack that failed to detonate. Admiral Guépratte and his squadron returned to the Gulf of Saros on 11 March where they again bombarded Turkish fortifications.[25]

They returned to assist in the major attack on the fortifications planned for 18 March. British ships made the initial entry into the Dardanelles, but the French ships passed through them to engage the forts at closer range. Gaulois was hit twice during this bombardment, but only one shell did any significant damage. It hit just above the waterline on the starboard bow and pushed in the armour plates below the waterline and opened up a hole through which water flooded in. Little could be done to staunch the inflow and the ship's captain decided to head for the Rabbit Islands, north of Tenedos, where he could beach his ship for temporary repairs. Escorted by Charlemagne in case she foundered en route, Gaulois managed to reach the islands. After temporary repairs, the ship was refloated and sailed for Toulon, escorted by Suffren. They encountered heavy weather en route and emergency repairs had to be made in the Bay of Navarin. She made Toulon without further incident where the ship was refitted and extensively modified to improve her stability, returning to the Dardanelles in July.[26]

Charlemagne was less severely damaged and was repaired at Bizerte, returning to the Dardanelles in May. Saint Louis arrived that same month and both ships provided fire support for French troops ashore.[3] Charlemagne was transferred to Salonica in October 1915 where she joined the French squadron assigned to prevent any interference by the Greeks with Allied operations in Greece. Saint Louis departed for a refit in Lorient that same month and relieved Charlemagne at Salonica in May 1916 so the latter could be refitted in Bizerte.[3][27] Gaulois remained at the Dardanelles until August, covering the evacuation of Allied troops from Gallipoli at the end of 1915, when she started a refit at Brest.[28]

Saint Louis became flagship of the Eastern Naval Division (Division navale d'Orient) in October 1916 until she was transferred to Bizerte in February 1917. Charlemagne returned to Salonica in August 1916 and remained there until ordered to Toulon in August 1917.[29] Gaulois was en route to Salonica after the completion of her refit in December and was sunk on 27 December 1916 by the German U-boat UB-47. Four crewmen were killed, but the rest of the crew was rescued by her escorts.[30] Both of her sisters were placed in reserve upon their arrivals in Bizerte and Toulon. Charlemagne was disarmed on 1 November 1917, condemned on 21 June 1920[27] and later sold for scrap in 1923.[2] Saint Louis was transferred to Toulon in January 1919 and was disarmed and decommissioned the following month. She became a training ship for stokers and engineers that same month. The ship was condemned in June 1920, although she was converted into an accommodation hulk. Saint Louis listed for disposal in 1931, but was not sold until 1933.[3]