Lyon-class battleship
Linedrawing of the Lyon class
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Lyon |
| Builders: | France |
| Operators: | France |
| Preceded by: | Normandie-class |
| Succeeded by: | Dunkerque-class |
| Planned: | 4 |
| Completed: | none |
| Cancelled: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Battleship |
| Displacement: | 29 000 tonnes |
| Length: | 194.5 m (638 ft) |
| Beam: | 29 m (95 ft) |
| Draft: | 9.2 m (30 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Mixed steam turbines and triple expansion engines or all-turbine systems, 43,000 shp (32,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 23 knots (43 km/h) |
| Armament: |
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The Lyon class was a proposed type of battleship which was planned for the French Navy in 1913, with construction scheduled to begin in 1915. The class was to have comprised four ships: Lyon, Lille, Duquesne, and Tourville. The first two were named for cities in France, while the rest honored French admirals Abraham Duquesne and Anne Hilarion de Tourville. The design was an improvement on the previous Normandie class, and mounted a fourth quadruple gun turret, for a total of sixteen 340 mm (13 in) guns. Construction was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 before any of the ships could be laid down.
Starting in 1910, the French Navy began a dreadnought battleship construction program, starting with the four ships of the Courbet class that year. The three-ship Bretagne class was authorized the next year, and five Normandie-class battleships followed in 1912. Design work began in 1912; the design staff submitted several proposals for the new battleships. Displacements ranged from 27,000 metric tons (27,000 long tons; 30,000 short tons) to 29,000 t (29,000 long tons; 32,000 short tons); the various designs featured a main battery of fourteen or sixteen 340 mm (13 in) guns, eight or ten 380 mm (15 in) guns, or twenty 305 mm (12.0 in) guns, in a mix of quadruple or twin gun turrets.
In 1913, the Navy authorized a fourth class of battleships, Lyon, which was scheduled for 1915. The design staff determined the 38 cm gun would take too long to design, so the proposals that incorporated these weapons were cancelled. The design staff settled on one of the two 34 cm proposals. The first proposal, which mounted fourteen guns, was a 27,500 t (27,100 long tons; 30,300 short tons) ship 185 meters (607 ft) long. On 24 November 1913, the design staff instead chose the slightly larger second design, armed with sixteen guns in four quadruple turrets. The first two ships, Lyon and Lille, were scheduled to be ordered on 1 January 1915, and Duquesne and Tourville would have followed on 1 April 1915. World War I broke out in August 1914, however, and shifting military requirements, particularly for the army, forced the cancellation of the class.
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