Charlemagne class battleship
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 The St Louis in April 1903 |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Charlemagne |
| Builders: | Brest and Lorient shipyards |
| Operators: |  French Navy |
| Preceded by: | Bouvet |
| Succeeded by: | Henri IV |
| In commission: | 1895 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Lost: | 1 (as target ship) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | battleship |
| Displacement: | 11,300 tonnes |
| Length: | 118 m |
| Beam: | 20.5 m |
| Draught: | 8.40 m |
| Propulsion: | 2 steam engines, 3 shafts, 14,500 HP |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 725 men |
| Armament: |
4 × 305mm/40 Modèle 1893 guns in twin mounts |
| Armour: |
belt : 250–400 mm |
| Notes: | Ships in class include: Charlemagne, St Louis, Gaulois |
The Charlemagne class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the French Navy.
The Charlemagne type introduced the arrangement of two large guns forwards and two at the aft, in twin mounts, as the British had done for 10 years, breaking with the French trademark of mounting one large gun at each end of the upper deck.
The belt was narrow and protected the entirety of the hull.
At the outbreak of the First World War, these ships were considered to be second-rate battleships, fit for areas of low danger. On 18 March 1915 the Charlemagne and Gaulois, along with the Bouvet and Suffren, took part in the Battle of Gallipoli, under Admiral Guépratte. The Gaulois was damaged in a minefield but survived the battle.
