French battleship Brennus Brennus was the first pre - dreadnought battleship of the French Navy built in the late 19th century . She was laid down in January 1889 , launched in October 1891 , and completed in 1896 . Her design was unique and departed from earlier ironclad battleship designs by introducing a number of innovations . These included a main battery of heavy guns mounted on the centerline and the first use of Belleville boiler s . She formed the basis for several subsequent designs , beginning with " Charles Martel " . " Brennus " spent the majority of her career in the Mediterranean Squadron , and she served as its flagship early in her career . In 1900 , she accidentally rammed and sank the destroyer " Framée " . As newer battleships were commissioned into the fleet , " Brennus " was relegated to the Reserve Squadron in the early 1900s . By the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , her old age and poor condition prevented her from seeing action . She was ultimately stricken from the naval register in 1919 and sold for scrap three years later . Design . An earlier vessel , also named " Brennus " , was laid down in 1884 and cancelled under the tenure of Admiral Théophile Aube . The vessel , along with a sister ship named " Charles Martel " , was a modified version of the ironclad battleships . After Aube ' s retirement , the plans for the ships were reworked entirely for the ships actually completed , though they are sometimes conflated with the earlier , cancelled vessels . This confusion may be a result of the same shipyard working on both of the ships named " Brennus " , along with use of material assembled for the first vessel to build the second . The two pairs of ships were , nevertheless , distinct vessels . The second " Brennus " was ordered in 1888 . " Brennus " was the first pre - dreadnought style battleship built in the French Navy ; the previous " Magenta " - class ships were barbette ships , a type of ironclad battleship . " Brennus " formed the basis for the subsequent group of five broadly similar battleships built to the same design specifications , begun with " Charles Martel " , though they reverted to the armament layout of the earlier " Magenta " s which saw the main guns distributed in single turrets in a lozenge pattern . General characteristics and machinery . " Brennus " was long between perpendiculars , and had a beam of and a draft of . She had a displacement of . As built , the ship was significantly overweight , and her draft was greater than intended , without a full load of ammunition . Most of her armored belt was submerged . Her superstructure had to be cut down and her mainmast , intended to be a fighting mast , had to be replaced with a lighter pole mast . Unlike most battleships of the period , she was built without a ram bow . " Brennus " had a crew of 673 officers and enlisted men . " Brennus " had two vertical triple expansion engines each driving a single screw , with steam supplied by thirty - two Belleville water - tube boilers . The decision to fit " Brennus " with water - tube boilers was made in 1887 , and she was the first large ship to be equipped with them . Her propulsion system was rated at , which allowed the ship to steam at a speed of . As built , she could carry of coal , though additional space allowed for up to in total . Armament and armor . " Brennus " s main armament consisted of three Canon de 340 mm / 42 Modèle 1887 gun s , two in a twin turret forward , and the third in a single turret aft . Her secondary armament consisted of ten Canon de 164 mm Modèle 1893 guns , four of which were mounted in single turrets amidships ; the other six were located directly underneath them in casemate s . The ship also carried four 9 - pounder quick - firing guns , fourteen 3 - pounders , and eight 1 - pounder guns , and six 1 - pounder revolver cannons . Her armament suite was rounded out by four above - water torpedo tube s , all of which were later removed . The ship ' s armor was constructed with both steel and compound armor . The main belt was thick amidships , and tapered down to at the lower edge . On either end of the central citadel , the belt was reduced to 305 mm at the waterline and on the lower edge ; the belt extended for the entire length of the hull . Above the belt was thick side armor . The main battery guns were protected with a maximum thickness of 460 mm of armor , and the secondary turrets had 100 mm thick sides . The main armored deck was thick . The conning tower had thick sides . Service career . " Brennus " was laid down at the Lorient dockyard in January 1889 and launched on 17 October 1891 . Fitting - out work was completed in 1896 and she was commissioned into the French Navy . In 1897 , the French Navy issued a new doctrine for gunnery control . During gunnery training exercises to test the new system , " Brennus " and the ironclad battleships " Neptune " and " Marceau " got 26 % hits at a range of . Their success prompted the Navy to make the method the standard for the fleet in February 1898 . In July and August 1900 , the French fleet conducted maneuvers in the English Channel . At the time , " Brennus " was the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron , under Vice Admiral Fournier . On 10 August off Cape St . Vincent , while returning from the maneuvers , she collided with the destroyer " Framée " . The destroyer quickly sank , and only fourteen men from her crew of 50 were rescued . By 1903 , " Brennus " was transferred to the Reserve Squadron , along with three other battleships and three armored cruiser s . There , she flew the flag of Rear Admiral Besson during the annual summer maneuvers in July – August 1903 . " Brennus " continued on in the Reserve Squadron through 1907 , during which time she was again the flagship of Vice Admiral Fournier . Fournier was the commander in chief of the annual summer maneuvers , which began in late June and concluded on 4 August 1907 . The following year , the Mediterranean Fleet was reorganized into three squadrons ; " Brennus " again repeated her role as flagship , of the Third Squadron , under the command of Rear Admiral Germinet . Due to her age and condition by the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , " Brennus " was not mobilized and did not see action . " Brennus " was ultimately stricken from the naval register in 1919 and sold for scrapping in 1922 .