French battleship Provence Provence was a battleship of the French Navy built in the 1910s , named in honor of the French region of Provence . She was a member of the " Bretagne " class , alongside her two sister ships , " Bretagne " and " Lorraine " . " Provence " was laid down in May 1912 at the Arsenal de Lorient , launched in April 1913 , and commissioned into the fleet in March 1916 , after the outbreak of World War I . She was armed with a main battery of ten guns and had a top speed of . " Provence " spent the bulk of her career in the French Mediterranean Squadron , where she served as the fleet flagship . During World War I , she was stationed at Corfu to prevent the Austro - Hungarian fleet from leaving the Adriatic Sea , but she saw no action . She was modernized significantly in the 1920s and 1930s , and conducted normal peace - time cruises and training maneuvers in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean . She participated in non - intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War . In the early days of World War II , " Provence " conducted patrols and sweeps into the Atlantic to search for German surface raiders . She was stationed in Mers - el - Kébir when France surrendered on 22 June 1940 . Fearful that the Germans would seize the French Navy , the British Royal Navy attacked the ships at Mers - el - Kébir . " Provence " was damaged and sank in the harbor , though she was refloated and moved to Toulon , where she became the flagship of the training fleet there . In late November 1942 , the Germans occupied Toulon and , to prevent them from seizing the fleet , the French scuttled their ships , including " Provence " . Partially scrapped in situ , her remains were raised in July 1943 , and some of her guns were used for coastal defense in the area . The hulk sank during 1944 and was ultimately raised in April 1949 broken up . Design . " Provence " was laid down at the Arsenal de Lorient on 1 May 1912 , launched on 20 April 1913 , and completed in June 1915 . She was commissioned into the French Navy on 1 March 1916 . The ship was long overall and had a beam of and a full - load draft of . She displaced around at full load and had a crew of between 1124 and 1133 officers and enlisted men . She was powered by four Parsons steam turbines with eighteen Belleville boiler s . They were rated at and provided a top speed of . Coal storage amounted to . " Provence " s main battery consisted of ten 340mm / 45 Modèle 1912 gun s mounted in five twin gun turret s , numbered from front to rear . They were placed all on the centerline ; two were in a superfiring pair forward , one amidships , and the last two in a superfiring arrangement aft . The secondary battery consisted of twenty - two Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1910 guns in casemate s along the length of the hull . She also carried seven Hotchkiss guns , two on the conning tower and one on the roof of each turret . The ship was also armed with four submerged torpedo tube s . The ship ' s main belt was thick and the main battery was protected by up to of armor . The conning tower had thick sides . Service . After entering service in 1916 , " Provence " and her sisters were assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Battle Squadron , with " Provence " as the fleet flagship . 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 , " Provence " saw no action during the conflict . Indeed , she did not leave port at all for the entirety of 1917 . In April 1919 , she returned to Toulon . The French Navy intended to send the ship to the Black Sea to join operations against the Bolsheviks , but a major mutiny prevented the operation . She and " Lorraine " went to Constantinople in October 1919 , where they formed the core of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron . In June 1921 , " Provence " and " Bretagne " went to Le Havre for a naval review , and were back in Toulon in September . In 1922 , " Provence " and " Lorraine " were placed in reserve , leaving " Bretagne " the only member of her class in service ; while out of service , " Provence " underwent a significant refit . The work lasted from 1 February 1922 to 4 July 1923 , and was carried out in Toulon . The ship had her armament improved ; her main guns were given greater elevation to increase their range , and four 75 mm M1897 gun s were installed on the forward superstructure . A heavy tripod mast with a fire control station and a rangefinder for the ship ' s anti - aircraft guns were also added . Another refit followed in 12 December 1925 – 11 July 1927 . The elevation of the main battery guns was again increased , the bow section of the belt armor was removed , and half of her boilers were converted to oil - firing models . A third and final modernization began on 20 September 1931 and lasted until 20 August 1934 . The rest of the coal - fired boilers were replaced with six Indret oil - fired boilers , new turbines and main battery guns were installed , along with eight new 75 mm anti - aircraft guns . After emerging from the refit , " Provence " and " Bretagne " were assigned to the 2nd Squadron in the Atlantic . There , they joined fleet exercises off the Azores , Madeira , and Morocco . The two ships took part in a cruise to Africa in 1936 . In August , they were involved in non - intervention patrols after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War ; these patrols lasted until April 1937 . World War II . At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 , " Provence " was in Toulon along with " Bretagne " in the 2nd Squadron , with " Provence " serving as the flagship of Vice Admiral Ollive . On 21 October , she went into drydock for periodic maintenance , which lasted until 2 December . Two days later , " Provence " and " Bretagne " , along with numerous cruisers and destroyers , sortied from Dakar to cover French merchant shipping off West Africa and the Azores . Around the middle of the month , the French warships returned to port . " Provence " was then sent to Casablanca , where she joined Force Y . The unit conducted several fruitless sweeps into the Atlantic . While in Gibraltar , she was damaged and forced to return to Toulon for repairs . While en route , she intercepted the Italian passenger ship " Oceania " ; " Provence " dispatched her to Marseilles so she could be inspected for contraband . " Provence " sailed for Oran on 24 January 1940 , and then returned to Force Y in Dakar . Force Y was transferred to Oran on 11 April ; they arrived five days later . On 27 April , " Provence " , her two sisters , and several cruisers were moved to Alexandria . On 18 May , " Provence " and " Bretagne " returned to Mers El Kébir . Following the French surrender on 22 June , the French fleet was to be disarmed under German and Italian supervision , under the terms of the Armistice . The British high command , however , was concerned that the French ships would be seized by the Axis powers and placed in service . The Axis navies would then outnumber the British Royal Navy . Prime Minister Winston Churchill therefore ordered Vice Admiral James Somerville , the commander of Force H , to neutralize the French fleet at Mers - el - Kébir . He was instructed to order the French vessels to join the British with the Free French , surrender for internment , to scuttle themselves , or be sunk . On 3 July , Somerville arrived and delivered the ultimatum ; the French rejected it , and so the British ships opened fire . " Provence " returned fire about 90 seconds after the British did , though she had no success against her British assailants . " Bretagne " was hit by several shells and exploded , killing most of her crew . " Provence " was also hit several times and badly damaged ; the shells set her on fire and caused her to settle to the bottom of the harbor , but she did not explode like her sister ship . The ship was subsequently refloated and temporarily repaired , and on 5 November , she was transferred to Toulon , arriving on the 8th . " Provence " was escorted by the destroyers " Epée " , " Fleuret " , " Hardi " , " Lansequenet " , and " Mameluk " . Beginning on 1 January 1942 , " Provence " became the flagship of the Flag Officer , Training Division . On 27 November , the German Army occupied Toulon , and to prevent them from seizing the fleet there , including " Provence " , the French scuttled their ships . At the time , " Provence " was moored next to the old pre - dreadnought " Condorcet " and the seaplane carrier " Commandant Teste " . The Italians moved into Toulon and partly scrapped " Provence " where she lay ; the remains were refloated on 11 July 1943 . Two of her 340 mm guns were removed from the ship and emplaced in a coastal battery at Saint - Mandrier - sur - Mer outside Toulon . The hulk was then towed across the harbor to La Seyne for final breaking up , where it foundered in 1944 . What was left of " Provence " was ultimately raised in April 1949 and was broken up for scrap .