The French Navy in 1939 (click and support naval encyclopedia) Washington Treaty consequences (1922) Shipyards had to be reequipped after 1918, resume construction of the ships started before the war (like the interesting Bearn and Lion class battleships) but there were other priorities ahead, and the funds were not allocated yet. The Mediterranean was the main front for “La Royale”, loosing ships to U-boats and mines, especially in the Dardanelles. Sailors went in the trenches, and often navy officers and future prominent admirals like Muselier and Darlan would learn their artillery trade on the Western Front. Still massive on paper, she has fallen to a lower rank due to a lack of manpower and complete freeze in naval construction but a handful of patrol boats and sub-chasers. In 1918, the French Navy emerged in a sorry state. Ww2 French AMCs French Navy in the Interwar Cruiser Pluton/La Tour d’Auvergne (1933).Courbet class Dreadnought Battleships (1911).Bretagne class Dreadnought Battleships (1914).Their square stern, concentrated armour, triple turrets, and large aircraft facilities were noted. Six ships considered particularly successful, derived from Emile Bertin. Gloire, Light cruiser of the La Galissonière class, and her famous 1944 dazzle camouflage. A fraction however escaped this fate for various reasons, but in the end remaining ships still present in the Empire swapped side due to Admiral Darlan‘s own shifting of allegiance and joined the allies, participating in many operations until the end of the war under the Free French flag. French ships were found either sunk, fighting the allies, or scuttled. Instead she suffered a cruel fate, most of its officers remaining faithful to Vichy France. Of considerable size by 1918, she was drastically reduced after Washington’s treat limitation in 1922, shaping in the end a smaller, but homogeneous fleet of excellent overall quality, but nevertheless with some inherent limitations that would have hampered its capabilities in WW2 if her fate has to serve with the allies for the whole duration of the conflict. La Marine Française (French Navy) is still called “La Royale” to this day (“Royal” (navy)) according to its pre-revolutionary traditions.
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