French Battleship Voltaire
Voltaire was a French semi-dreadnought battleship of the Danton-class. Launched on 16 January 1909, she was commissioned into the Marine Nationale on 1 August 1911.
On 16 August 1914, Voltaire participated in the Battle of Antivari along with a large Fleet of British and French ships. She participated in the sinking of the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser Zenta.
For the remainder of the First World War, she helped blockade the Straits of Otranto and the Dardanelles to prevent German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish warships from breaking out into the Mediterranean. On 10 October 1918, while returning to Mudros following an overhaul, she was torpedoed by the German U-boat UB-48. Although struck by two torpedoes, she was able to make temporary repairs at Mudros and then sail to Bizerte for permanent repairs.
She was modernised post-war from 1922 to 1925, being used as a training ship from 1927. She was condemned in 1937 and scuttled in Quiberon Bay (France) on 31 May 1938 for long-term use as a target. The wreck was sold in December 1949 and broken up from March 1950 onwards.
