French Battleship Danton
The lead ship of her class, Danton was a semi-dreadnought of the French Navy. She was launched on 4 July 1909 and commissioned on 1 June 1911. On the outbreak of the First World War, Danton was used to escort troop ships from North Africa to Europe, as the German battle cruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau were operating in the Mediterranean.
Along with here five sister ships, Danton was used to blockade the Austro-Hungarian and Turkish fleets, to prevent them breaking out into the Mediterranean. On 19 March 1917, while returning from a refit in Toulon, she was sunk by U-64 35 km south-west of Sardinia. Of the 1,102 men onboard, 296 were lost.
