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FS Bretagne (1855)

FS Brittany (1855) History

Until the 1840s, the French navy was struggling to regain its former glory, especially when driven out of the war with the British during the Second Crisis of the East in 1840, the French tended to favor main steam propulsion with sail power as an auxiliary power . This resulted in a large number of French warships lacking the seafaring qualities of their hated contemporaries, and the overall limited capabilities of the French navy.

This led to the following decade when French naval engineers began to develop ideas to strengthen the limitations of previous French products. The battleships FS Napoleon of 1850 and FS Brittany of 1855 were originally laid as sailing battleships. However, Brittany benefited from having a steam propulsion system installed while she was still building. She was built by the Brest Arsenal in January 1853 as a three-masted three-deck galleon battleship with 130 guns.

The Brittany was launched on February 17, 1855, and was commissioned the same year. At the time of her launch, Brittany was the second largest three-gun deck wooden battleship ever built.

When built, Brittany had a displacement of 7,580 tons under load, a length of 266 feet, a beam of 59 feet, and a draft of 28 feet. Her crew totaled 1,170, including officers, sailors, various specialists and, as appropriate, marines. During her early career, Brittany armed her three gun decks with as many as 130 guns of various types and calibers - ranging from 80 lb to 30 lb.

Her range changed in 1869 as her rifled guns were more accurate - including the 2 x 190mm model.

As a hybrid propulsion vessel, Brittany can rely on her maneuvering sails or steam system. The Indret single screw compound steam engine uses eight boilers to generate up to 4,800 shaft horsepower for the single propeller supplied. The boilers are located on either side of the main mast. Under ideal conditions, the top speed reaches 12.6 knots.

Three mainsails provide old-fashioned propulsion and range, limited only by the onboard pantry and crew health/power. Propelled by steam alone, the ship can travel up to 1,000 nautical miles.

Brittany's military history includes service during the Crimean War (1853-1856), when an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia opposed the Russian Empire seeking control of the Black Sea. The war ended in an Allied victory, and the Treaty of Paris severely restricted the military presence in the Black Sea, making it "neutral" for all parties.

Brittany was used during the war years of 1854-1855.

After commissioning, Brittany was hired by the French Navy as a floating barracks ship in 1866. Her military career ended in 1879, when she was officially removed from the Naval Register.

In 1880, she was given the name "Ville de Bordeaux", but it was soon abandoned and her French sailing career ended.

With the commissioning of the battleship Brittany in 1916, the Breton name of a French ship was renamed.