PROVENCE (April 20, 1913)

Displacement: 22,189 tons standart Complement: 1,133 (+ 57 as Flagship). Length: (w.l.), 541 1/3 feet, over all, 544 1/2 feet Beam: 88,5 feet Draught: max. 32 feet Guns: 10-13,4 inch, 45 cal. 14-5,5 inch, 55 cal. (M.'10) 8-3 inch AA, 60 cal. 7-47 mm. 16-13 mm. Torpedo tubes (removed). Armour: (chromo-nickel): 10 3/4" Belt (amidships) 7" Belt (ends) Deck (see Notes) 10"-16" Lower deck side 17"-10" Turrets 11" Turret bases (N.C.) 7" Secondary battery 12 1/2" Gonning tower Machinery: Parsons turbine. 4 shafts. Boilers: Indret. Designed H.P.: 29,000=20 kts. (since increased). Oil fuel: 2,600 tons. Radius at 10 kts., over 7,000 miles.

Gunnery Notes.- Carry 100 rounds per gun for 13,4 inch and 275 per gun for the 5,5 inch. Janney electro-hydraulic mountings to big guns. Special cooling for magazines-temperature 77° Fahr. Magazines can be completely flooded inside ten minutes. Height of guns above l.w.l.: 1st turret, 30 1/2 feet; 2nd, 37 3/4 feet; 3rd, 33 1/2 feet; 4th, 28 1/2 feet; 5th, 21 1/3 feet. Arcs of training: Nos. 1 and 5,270°; Nos 2 & 4,280°; No. 3, 120° either beam. Arcs of secondary guns: 120°. Big gun elevation increased from 18° to 23°: max. range is 23,000 metres. Lorraine has had turret removed amidships to make room for catapult. Armour notes.- Turrets of maximum thickness at ports, instead of uniform thickness as in Courbet type. According to the 1917 Edition of "Flottes de Combat", the barbette shields are not of uniform design. Those for the end barbettes are 13,4" thick, for the super-firing barbettes 9 3/4 thick and for the central barbette 15 3/4 thick. The double bottom is carried to the under side of protective deck. Main belt is 13 1 feet wide, 5 7/12 feet below and 7 3/4 above l.w.l. Battery 197 feet long with 7 in. Bulkheads. Protective decks: lower 2" slopes, 1 3/4 flat. Upper, 1 3/4 flat on top of belt. Engineering notes.- Is now converted to oil fuel. 6 new Indret small tube type now supply turbines with steam, giving a large reserve of power beyond the designed figure. Notes.- Provence and Lorraine belong to 1912 programme, one being a replace ship for the Liberté, blown up September, 1911. Estimated cost, GBP 2,908,000 per ship=GBP 126 per ton. In 1919-20 tripod foremasts and directors were installed. Both converted to partial oil burning, 1927-30. In 1932-35 they were extensively refitted, being given new 13,4 inch guns (originally ordered for Normandie class), additional AA. and machine guns, enhanced protection, and small-tube boilers, burning oil, and subsequently made 20 kts. continuously at sea. Special notes.- Provence was heavily shelled at Mers-el-Kebir on July 3, 1940, and severely damaged, though she was afterwards taken to Toulon for refit. On Nov. 27, 1942, she received further heavy damage from her own ship's company at Toulon, her stern compartments being submerged.