World Wars
The development of the French Navy slowed down in the beginning of 20th century, and as a result, it was outnumbered by the German and US Navies. It was late to introduce new battleships - dreadnoughts and light cruisers and it entered World War I with relatively few modern vessels: only one dreadnought in commission at war's start, though all four Courbets by the end of 1914 and the 3 improved dreadnoughts by mid-1916. During the war, the main French effort was on land. While capital ships already on the ways were completed, few new warships were laid down. Despite its dated roster, the Marine Nationale performed well in World War I. The main operation of the French Navy was the Dardanelles Campaign. France's most significant losses during the war were four pre-dreadnought battleships, victims of mines and U-boat torpedoes.
A number of major ships of the French Navy at the outbreak / end of World War I
- dreadnought battleships: 4/7
- pre-dreadnought battleships: 17/13
- armoured cruisers: 22/18
- protected cruisers: 13/12
- destroyers: 35/42 (capacity over 500 tons)
- torpedo boats: 180/164
- submarines: 50/61
Read more about this topic: History Of The French Navy
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