French Battleship Lorraine - Service

Service

After entering service in 1916, Lorraine and her sisters were assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Battle Squadron. The three ships remained in the unit for the remainder of the war. They spent the majority of their time at Corfu to prevent the Austro-Hungarian fleet from attempting to break out of the Adriatic. The fleet's presence was also intended to intimidate Greece, which had become increasingly hostile to the Triple Entente. Later in the war, men were drawn from their crews for anti-submarine warfare vessels. As the Austro-Hungarians largely remained in port for the duration of the war, Lorraine saw no action during the conflict. In 1917, she returned to Toulon for a periodic refit, but apart from that voyage, she saw no time at sea for the rest of the year.

In January 1919, she went to Cattaro, where she guarded the former Austro-Hungarian Navy. She assisted in repatriating Austrian naval personnel, and escorted former Austro-Hungarian warships to France and Italy; this duty lasted until March. The French Navy intended to send Lorraine and her sister Provence to the Black Sea to join operations against the Bolsheviks, but a major mutiny prevented the operation. The two ships went to Constantinople in October 1919, where they formed the core of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, which operated until July 1921. Lorraine underwent her first refit starting on 10 November 1921, which lasted until 4 December 1922. After emerging from refit, Lorraine was placed in reserve, due to fiscal limitations in the post-war French Navy. She returned to service the following year—1923–with the 1st Battleship Division of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Lorraine was modernized a second time between 15 November 1924 and 4 August 1926. A third refit followed on 17 September 1929 and lasted until 6 June 1931. During these periods in dock, the range of the main battery was increased, the anti-aircraft battery was strengthened, and her boilers were replaced with newer, oil-fired models. Between 18 September 1934 and 20 September 1935, a fourth and final pre-war refit was carried out in Brest; Lorraine's amidships turret was removed, and an aircraft catapult along with a hangar for three aircraft were installed. The aircraft were initially Gourdou-Leseurre GL819 and Potez 452 seaplanes, though they were later replaced with Loire 130 flying boats. In 1936, Lorraine was transferred to the Atlantic Squadron, where she remained until the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.