"The Danton was a French battleship (the so-called pre-dreadnought or pre-dreadnought), whose keel was laid in 1908, launched in July 1909, and entered service with the French National Marine Corps in July 1911. The ship was 144.9 m long, 25.8 m wide, and had an actual gross displacement of about 19,700 tons. The ship's maximum speed was 19.2 knots. The main armament at the time of launching consisted of 4,305-mm guns in two twin turrets, and auxiliary armament: 12 240-mm guns, 16 75-mm guns, 4 37-mm guns and 2 450-mm torpedo tubes. The ship was built at the Brest shipyard. "The Danton was the first of six battleships of the class with the same name, i.e., Danton. Units of this type were built in response to the rapid expansion of the German navy at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The design and construction took into account the experience of the Battle of Tsushima, which led, for example, to a large number of medium-caliber artillery and an emphasis on speed and maneuverability. Battleships of this type, however, were inferior in armor and main artillery to modern British and German dreadnoughts. "The Danton made her first important voyage immediately after being launched, when she sailed to London for the coronation ceremony of George V. Between 1911 and 1914, she operated mainly in the Mediterranean basin. It also served in the area during the First World War, protecting mainly convoys traveling from North Africa to France. It also participated in blocking the Austro-Hungarian fleet in the Adriatic Sea. The battleship Danton was sunk on March 19, 1917 by the German submarine U-64.
