View source for French battleship Paris

{{Short description|French Courbet-class battleship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=FMIB 37118 Cuirasse Faris.jpeg
|Ship caption=''Paris'', 1913
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=France
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|France|naval}} {{shipboxflag|Free France|naval}}
|Ship name=''Paris''
|Ship namesake=[[Paris]]
|Ship ordered=1 August 1911
|Ship builder= [[Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée]], [[La Seyne, France|La Seyne]]
|Ship original cost=[[French franc|F]]63,000,000
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=10 November 1911
|Ship launched=28 September 1912
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=22 August 1914
|Ship commissioned=1 August 1914
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship struck=21 December 1955
|Ship fate=[[ship breaking|Scrapped]], June 1956
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship class={{sclass|Courbet|battleship}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|23475|t|LT|abbr=on}} (normal)
*{{convert|25579|t|LT|abbr=on}} ([[full load]])
|Ship length= {{convert|166|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|27|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|28000|PS|kW shp|lk=in|abbr=on|0}}
*24 × [[Belleville boiler]]s
|Ship draught={{convert|9.04|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=4 × shafts; 2 × [[steam turbine]] sets
|Ship speed= {{convert|21|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship endurance={{convert|4200|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn}}
|Ship complement=1,115 (1,187 as [[flagship]])
|Ship armament=*6 × twin [[305mm/45 Modèle 1906 gun|{{convert|305|mm|0|abbr=on}} guns]]
*22 × single [[Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1910 Naval gun|{{convert|138|mm|1|abbr=on}} guns]]
*4 × single [[Canon de 47 mm modèle 1902|{{convert|47|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns]]
*4 × {{convert|450|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{convert|140|-|250|mm|in|abbr=on|1}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|40|-|70|mm|in|abbr=on}}
*[[Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{convert|250|mm|in|abbr=on}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|266|mm|in|abbr=on|1}}
}}
|}
'''''Paris''''' was the third ship of four {{sclass|Courbet|battleship}}s, the first [[dreadnoughts]] built for the [[French Navy]]. She was completed before [[World War I]] as part of the 1911 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean, spending most of 1914 providing gunfire support for the [[Montenegrin Army]] until her [[sister ship]] {{ship|French battleship |Jean Bart|1911|2}} was torpedoed by the submarine {{SMU|U-12|Austria-Hungary|2}} on 21 December.<ref name=c7/> She spent the rest of the war providing cover for the [[Otranto Barrage]] that blockaded the [[Austro-Hungarian Navy]] in the [[Adriatic Sea]].

''Paris'' supported French and Spanish troops in 1925 during the [[Rif War (1920)|Third Rif War]] before becoming a school ship in 1931. She was modernized in three separate refits between the wars even though she was not deemed to be a first-class battleship. She remained in that role until the [[Battle of France]], which began on 10 May 1940, after which she was hastily rearmed. She supported [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] troops in the defence of [[Le Havre]] during June until she was damaged by a German bomb, but she took refuge later that month in England. As part of [[Operation Catapult]], she was seized in [[Plymouth]] by British forces on 3 July. She was used as a [[depot ship]] and [[barracks ship]] there by the [[Royal Navy|Royal]] and [[Polish Navy|Polish Navies]] for the rest of the war. Returned to the French in July 1945 she was towed to Brest the following month and used as a depot ship until she was stricken on 21 December 1955.

==Background and description==
[[File:Courbet class diagrams Brasseys 1912.jpg|left|thumb|250px|{{center|Right elevation and deck plan as depicted in ''[[Brassey's Naval Annual]]'' 1912}}]]
By 1909 the French Navy was finally convinced of the superiority of the [[all-big-gun]] battleship like {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}} over the mixed-calibre designs like the {{sclass|Danton|battleship|4}} which had preceded the ''Courbet''s. The following year, the new [[List of Naval Ministers of France|Minister of the Navy]], [[Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère]], selected a design that was comparable to the foreign dreadnoughts then under construction to be built as part of the 1906 Naval Programme.<ref>Jordan & Caresse, pp. 139–140</ref> The ships were {{convert|166|m|ftin}} [[length overall|long overall]]<ref name="c7">Smigielski, p. 197</ref> and had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|27|m|ftin}} and a mean [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|9.04|m|ftin}}. They [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|23475|t|LT}} at normal load and {{convert|25579|t|LT}} at [[deep load]]. Their crew numbered 1,115 men as a [[private ship]] and increased to 1,187 when serving as a flagship. The ships were powered by two [[Licensed production|licence-built]] [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] [[steam turbine]] sets, each driving two propeller shafts using steam provided by 24 [[Belleville boiler]]s.<ref name=pc3>Jordan & Caresse, p. 143</ref> These boilers were coal-burning with auxiliary oil sprayers and were designed to produce {{convert|28000|PS|kW shp|lk=on|0}}.<ref name="w6">Whitley, p. 36</ref> The ships had a designed speed of {{convert|21|knots|lk=in}}. The ''Courbet''-class ships carried enough coal and [[fuel oil]] to give them a range {{convert|4200|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.<ref name="c7" />

The [[main battery]] of the ''Courbet'' class consisted of twelve [[305mm/45 Modèle 1906 gun|Canon de {{cvt|305|mm|0}} Modèle 1906–1910]] guns mounted in six twin-[[gun turret]]s, with two pairs of [[superfiring]] turrets fore and aft of the [[superstructure]], and a pair of [[wing turret]]s [[amidships]]. Their [[secondary armament]] was twenty-two [[Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1910 Naval gun|Canon de {{cvt|138|mm}} Modèle 1910]] guns, which were mounted in [[casemate]]s in the hull. Four [[Canon de 47 mm modèle 1902|Canon de {{cvt|47|mm|in}} Modèle 1902]] [[Hotchkiss gun]]s were fitted, two on each [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]] in the superstructure. They were also armed with four {{convert|450|mm|in|adj=on|1}} submerged [[torpedo tube]]s<ref name="w6" /> and could stow 10 [[naval mine|mines]] below decks. The ships' [[waterline]] [[belt armor|belt]] ranged in thickness from {{convert|140|to|250|mm|abbr=on|1}} and was thickest amidships. The gun turrets were protected by 250&nbsp;mm of armour and {{cvt|160|mm|1|adj=on}} plates protected the casemates. The curved armoured [[Deck (ship)|deck]] was {{cvt|40|mm|1}} thick on the flat and {{cvt|70|mm|1}} on the outer slopes. The [[conning tower]] had a {{convert|266|mm|abbr=on}} thick face and sides.<ref>Jordan & Caresse, pp. 143, 150, 156–158</ref>

==Construction and career==
The ship was ordered on 1 August 1911<ref>Dumas, p. 162</ref> and named after the [[Paris|French capital city]].<ref>Silverstone, p. 107</ref> She was [[laid down]] on 10 November 1911 by [[Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée]] at its shipyard in [[La Seyne-sur-Mer|La Seyne]] and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 28 September 1912. Due to the rising tensions in Europe in mid-1914, the ship was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] into the fleet on 1 August before she was formally completed on 14 August at a cost of [[French franc|F]]63,000,000. ''Paris'' was assigned to the 1st Division (''1ère Division'') of the 2nd Battle Squadron (''2ème Escadre de ligne'') of the [[Mediterranean Fleet (France)|1st Naval Army]] (''1ère Armée Navale'') on 1 August, but did not join her [[squadron (naval)|squadron]] until 5 September.<ref>Jordan & Caresse, pp. 142, 244</ref>

After working up she was sent, along with her sisters, to the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. She spent most of the rest of 1914 providing gunfire support for the Montenegrin Army until {{SMU|U-12|Austria-Hungary|2}} hit ''Jean Bart'' on 21 December with a torpedo.<ref name=c7/> This forced the battleships to fall back to either [[Malta]] or [[Bizerte]] to cover the [[Otranto Barrage]]. After the French occupied the neutral Greek island of [[Corfu]] in 1916 she moved forward to Corfu and [[Argostoli]], but her activities were very limited as much of her crew was used to man anti-submarine ships.<ref name=w8>Whitley, p. 38</ref> Before the end of the war she was fitted with seven {{convert|75|mm|adj=on|0}} Mle 1897 [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) guns in single mounts.<ref>Dumas, p. 226</ref> These guns were adaptions of the famous [[Canon de 75 modèle 1897|French Mle 97 75-mm]] [[field gun]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=John|title=Naval Weapons of World War II|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|year=1985|page=306|isbn=978-0-87021-459-2}}</ref>

===Interwar years===
[[File:Le Paris cuirassé, en rade de Toulon, 6 mai 1922.jpg|thumb|''Paris'' en route to Toulon, 7 May 1922]]
''Paris'' was sent to [[Pula]] on 12 December 1918 to supervise the surrendered Austro-Hungarian fleet, where she remained until 25 March 1919. She provided cover for Greek troops during the [[Occupation of İzmir]] (Smyrna) from May 1919 before returning to Toulon on 30 June 1919.<ref name=w8>Whitley, p. 38</ref> She collided with the [[destroyer]] ''[[French destroyer Bouclier|Bouclier]]'' at Toulon on 27 June 1922; both ships suffered severe damage.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=28 June 1922 |page=21 |issue=43069 |column=E }}</ref>

''Paris'' received the first of her upgrades at [[Brest, France|Brest]] between 25 October 1922 and 25 November 1923. This included replacing one set of boilers with oil-fired boilers, increasing the maximum elevation of the main armament from 12° to 23°, removal of her bow armour to make her less bow-heavy, the installation of a [[Fire-control system#Naval fire control|fire-control director]], with a {{convert|4.57|m|ft}} [[Rangefinding telemeter|rangefinder]], and the exchange of her Mle 1897 AA guns for Mle 1918 guns.<ref name=d5>Dumas, p. 225</ref> After her return to service she supported an amphibious landing at [[Al Hoceima]] by Spanish troops during the summer of 1925 after the [[Riffian people|Rifs]] attacked [[French Morocco]] during the Third Rif War. She destroyed coastal defence batteries there despite taking light damage from six hits and remained there until October as the flagship of the French forces. She was refitted again from 16 August 1927 to 15 January 1929 at Toulon and her fire-control systems were comprehensively upgraded. A large cruiser-type fire-control director was added atop the foremast with a 4.57-m [[coincidence rangefinder]] and a {{convert|3|m|ftin|adj=on}} stereo rangefinder. The rangefinder above the conning tower was replaced by a duplex unit carrying two 4.57-m rangefinders and another 4.57-m rangefinder was added in an armoured hood next to the main mast. Two directors for the secondary guns were added on the navigation bridge, each with a {{convert|2|m|ftin|adj=on}} coincidence rangefinder. A {{convert|8.2|m|ftin}} rangefinder was added to the roof of 'B' turret, the second one from the bow. Three {{convert|1.5|m|ftin|adj=on}} rangefinders were provided for her anti-aircraft guns, one on top of the duplex unit on the conning tower, one on 'B' turret and one in the aft superstructure.<ref name=d5/> She resumed her role as flagship of the 2nd Division of the 1st Squadron of the Mediterranean Squadron until 1 October 1931 when she became a training ship.<ref name=w8/>

''Paris'' was overhauled again between 1 July 1934 and 21 May 1935. Her boilers were overhauled, her main guns replaced and her Mle 1918 AA guns were exchanged for more modern Mle 1922 guns. They had a maximum depression of 10° and a maximum elevation of 90°. They fired a {{convert|5.93|kg|adj=on}} shell at a [[muzzle velocity]] of {{convert|850|m/s|abbr=on}} at a rate of fire of 8–18 rounds per minute and had a maximum effective ceiling of {{convert|8000|m}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNFR_3-50_m1922.htm|title=French 75 mm/50 (2.95") Model 1922, 1924 and 1927|date=24 March 2007|publisher=Navweaps.com|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref>

===World War II===
[[File:Paris leaving Devonport A 777.jpg|thumb|''Paris'' leaving [[HM Dockyard, Devonport]], July 1940]] 
''Paris'' and ''Courbet'' formed a Fifth Squadron at the beginning of the war. They were transferred to the Atlantic to continue their training duties without interference. Both ships were ordered restored to operational status on 21 May 1940 by Amiral Mord and they were given six [[13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun|Hotchkiss {{convert|13.2|mm|adj=on}}]] twin machine gun mounts and two single 13.2-mm Browning machine guns at Cherbourg. ''Paris'' was ordered to Le Havre on 6 June to provide gunfire support on the [[Somme River|Somme]] front and covered the evacuation of the town by the Allies, although the lack of spotting aircraft meant that she was not particularly effective in that role. Instead she helped to defend the harbour of Le Havre against German aircraft until she was hit by a bomb on 11 June. She sailed for Cherbourg that night for temporary repairs despite taking on {{convert|300|LT|MT|0}} of water per hour. She was transferred to Brest on 14 June and carried 2,800 men when that port was evacuated on 18 June.<ref>Whitley, pp. 38–9</ref>

In the wake of the [[Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)|Armistice]], ''Paris'' was docked at [[Plymouth]], England. On 3 July 1940, as part of Operation Catapult, British forces forcibly boarded her and she was used by the British as a depot ship and as a barracks ship by the Polish Navy for the rest of the war. On 21 August 1945, after the war had ended, ''Paris'' was towed to Brest where she continued in her role as a depot ship.<ref>Whitley, p. 39</ref> She was sold for scrap on 21 December 1955 and broken up at La Seyne from June 1956.<ref>Dumas, p. 231</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal |last1=Colledge |first1=J. J.|last2=Adams|first2=T. A. |title=French Ships Seized by the Royal Navy During the Second World War — Part 2 |journal=Marine News Supplement: Warships|name-list-style=amp |date=May 2022 |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=S261–S276 |issn=0966-6958}}
*{{cite book |last1=Dodson |first1=Aidan |editor1-last=Jordan |editor1-first=John |title=Warship 2021 |date=2021 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-1-4728-4779-9 |chapter=''Paris'' on the Tamar|pages=188–190}}
* {{cite book|last=Dumas|first=Robert|chapter=The French Dreadnoughts: The 23,500 ton ''Courbet'' Class|editor=John Roberts|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=1985 |title=Warship|volume=IX|pages=154–164, 223–231 |isbn=978-0-87021-984-9 |oclc=26058427}}
*{{cite book|last=Gille|first=Eric|title=Cent ans de cuirassés français|publisher=Marines |location=Nantes|year=1999|isbn=2-909-675-50-5|trans-title=A Century of French Battleships |language=fr}}
* {{cite book
  | last = Halpern|author-link=Paul G. Halpern
  | first = Paul G.
  | year = 2004
  | title = The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I
  | publisher = Indiana University Press
  | location = Bloomington, Indiana
  | isbn = 978-0-253-34379-6
  }}
*{{cite book |last1=Jordan |first1=John |last2=Caresse |first2=Philippe |title=French Battleships of World War One |date=2017 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-59114-639-1 |name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |publisher=Mayflower Books|location=New York|year=1980|isbn=0-8317-0303-2 |chapter=France |last1=Roberts |first1=John|pages=255–279}}
* {{Cite book|first=Jean-Michel |last=Roche |year=2005 |language=fr |title=Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours|trans-title=Dictionary of French Warships from Colbert to Today|location=Toulon|publisher = Group Retozel-Maury Millau|volume=Tome 1: 1671–1870 |oclc=470444756}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5|chapter=France|first1=Adam|last1=Smigielski|pages=190–220}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|author-link=Michael J. Whitley|title=Battleships of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-184-X}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=Dumas|first1=Robert|last2=Guiglini|first2=Jean|title=Les cuirassés français de 23,500 tonnes|publisher=Editions de 4 Seigneurs|location=Grenoble, France|year=1980 |oclc=7836734 |name-list-style=amp |trans-title=The French 23,500-tonne Battleships|language=fr}}

{{Courbet class battleship}}
{{1922 shipwrecks}}
{{July 1940 shipwrecks}}
{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris}}
[[Category:Courbet-class battleships]]
[[Category:World War I battleships of France]]
[[Category:World War II battleships of France]]
[[Category:Ships of the Free French Naval Forces]]
[[Category:1912 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1922]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1940]]