Bretagne was a French super-dreadnought, lead ship of her class, launched in April 1913. Due to the constraints of the French shipyards, her length and displacement remained almost unchanged compared to her predecessors of the Courbet class. During World War One, she was delegated to blockading the deployment of German and Austro-Hungarian submarines. During the interwar period, Bretagne underwent several very extensive modernisations, including updating fire control systems, replacing an outdated mast with a tripod, and strengthening anti-air defence.
With the outbreak of World War Two, the battleship was based in Toulon and participated in the naval blockade of Germany. In March 1940, she transported part of France’s gold reserves to Halifax. At the time of the Invasion of France, she was stationed in Mers-el-Kébir which, after the surrender of France, became a target of British attack in order to prevent French ships from falling into German hands. On 3 July, during Operation Catapult, the fleet stationed in harbour came under fire from the battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Resolution and the battlecruiser HMS Hood along with escort vessels. Bretagne received several hits from 381 mm shells, leading to an explosion and sinking which killed 1,012 crew members. In 1942, attempts were made to raise the battleship’s hull for cutting, but they were stopped after an explosion occurred on board. In 1952, the hull was finally raised and by 1954 cut for scrap.
The Bretagne was introduced in Update "Alpha Strike" in her 1925 refit. She plays like a typical WW1-era dreadnought, being best used in a second line, picking off targets with her multiple large-calibre guns. Her mediocre armour, limited mobility, and next to no anti-air defences make it difficult for her to compete for capture points or slug it out against vessels at higher BRs.
Ammunition | Type | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
HE | 68 | 68 | 68 | 68 | 68 | 68 | |
APC | 472 | 424 | 355 | 301 | 257 | 203 | |
APCBC | 493 | 457 | 403 | 358 | 321 | 267 |
Ammunition | Type | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
HE | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | |
Common | 67 | 49 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 | |
SAPBC | 73 | 62 | 47 | 37 | 34 | 34 |
Ammunition | Type | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
HE | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Seakeeping |
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Unsinkability | |
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Firepower | ||
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