Colbert class 8,750 tons. This was largely a result of the pronounced tumblehome and an insufficiently subdivided hull that was not able to cope with underwater damage. French destroyers have powerful guns and great speed, but without the Smoke Generator () consumable. The wreck was repaired to make her watertight and was refloated in 1909 for use as a target ship, being partially broken up between 1913 and 1914 off Porquerolles, though parts of the ship remained there until 1957 when final demolition was completed. By the end of the decade, the British Naval Defence Act of 1889 that considerably strengthened the Royal Navy provided the justification the battleship faction needed to embark on a similar naval expansion program. [87], Three of the four ships were completed shortly before World War I, and France and Jean Bart carried President Raymond Poincaré on a visit to Russia during the July Crisis, the proximate cause of the war. Also used to test new equipment and diving procedures. After the war, the surviving pre-dreadnoughts were either scrapped or reduced to secondary roles. [3][4], Charles Martel was the first of a group of five broadly similar battleships ordered during the 1890 construction program as part of the French response to a major British naval construction program.

During World War I, she took part in the Dardanelles campaign through the end of 1915. The French naval command had become convinced by 1909 that the so-called dreadnought battleships were superior to the mixed-battery ships like the Dantons, and so the new naval minister, Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère, instructed the design staff to prepare an all-big-gun proposal. Jean Bart was moved to Casablanca and Richelieu fled to Dakar before they could be captured by German forces.

The last member of the class became the squadron flagship. As a result, the navy decided to adopt a heavier secondary battery than the preceding Libertés, but decided against following many other major navies then building "all-big-gun" battleships. The 340 mm gun was adopted, but to improve the ships' firepower, a fourth quadruple turret was added. Concerned that the Germans would seize the French fleet, the British launched Operation Catapult to neutralize the vessels; during the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, Force H damaged Dunkerque but Strasbourg was able to escape the harbor and reach Toulon. The ships were involved in a number of accidents: Gaulois collided with the destroyer Hallebarde in 1900 and Bouvet in 1903, Saint Louis was struck by the destroyer Poignard and rammed the submarine Vendémiaire in 1911 and 1912, respectively. Convinced of the need to follow suit with dreadnoughts of their own, the French ordered the four Courbets in 1910 and the three Bretagnes followed in 1912.