700-32 GAULOIS CHARLEMAGNE-CLASS PRE-DREADNOUGHT BATTLESHIP, FRENCH NAVY 1896

Gaulois was a French battleship (the so-called pre-dreadnought) from the beginning of the 20th century and during the First World War. The keel for this unit was laid in 1896, the launch took place the same year, and entry into service in the Marine Nationale - in 1899. The total length of the ship was 117.7 meters and a width of 20.3 meters. The displacement was around 11,300 tons, and the maximum speed was around 18 knots. The deck armament, at the time of launching, consisted of: 4 305 mm guns, 10 138 mm guns or 8 100 mm guns. Gaulois was one of the three ships of the Charlemagne class. The Brest shipyard was responsible for the construction of this battleship. Charlemagne-class units were created to complement the line of battleships such as Bouvet, Carnot and Massena. Compared to them, they had standardized main armament, better swimming range, with similar performance. Before the outbreak of World War I, Gaulois served primarily in the Mediterranean Sea. At the time of the outbreak of this armed conflict, the ship was covering allied convoys from North Africa to the French metropolis. In 1915, he took part in the Dardanelles' operation, but was severely damaged in its course, and had to be towed to the base in Toulon for a general overhaul. Gaulois was sunk by the Austro-Hungarian submarine UB-47 on December 27, 1916 in the territorial waters of present-day Greece.