20 Apr 1913

France
18 Apr 1919

France
23 Apr 1919

France
  • Joseph Rochefort departed Brest, France aboard passenger ship Koningin der Nederlanden as a member of the crew. ww2dbase [Joseph Rochefort | Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
2 Aug 1920

France
4 Aug 1922

France
17 Jan 1923

France
14 Aug 1923

France
16 Aug 1923

France
21 Mar 1924

France
21 May 1924

France
30 Oct 1924

France
17 Dec 1925

France
4 Apr 1926

France
  • The keel of Suffren was laid down at the Arsenal de Brest in France. ww2dbase [Suffren | Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
3 May 1927

France
12 Jun 1927

France
  • The keel of Colbert was laid down at Brest Naval Shipyard, France. ww2dbase [Colbert | Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
20 Apr 1928

France
21 Jun 1928

France
  • The keel of Foch was laid down at Arsenal de Brest, France. ww2dbase [Foch | Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
24 Apr 1929

France
14 Nov 1929

France
  • The keel of French cruiser Dupleix was laid down by the Arsenal de Brest in France. ww2dbase [Dupleix | Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
9 Oct 1930

France
19 Mar 1931

France
20 Dec 1931

France
21 May 1932

France
24 Dec 1932

France
18 Sep 1934

France
31 Jul 1935

France
20 Sep 1935

France
6 Jun 1937

Photo(s) dated 6 Jun 1937
Émile Bertin at Lorient, France, 6 Jun 1937
18 Nov 1937

France
1 Dec 1937

France
16 Apr 1938

France
17 Jan 1939

France
4 Oct 1939

France
  • HMS Acheron (H 45) disembarked the survivors of Belgian merchant steamer Suzon, which was sunk by German submarine U-35 three days earlier, at Brest, France. ww2dbase [Brest, Bretagne | HM]
21 May 1940

France
30 May 1940

France
  • German submarine U-101 struck unescorted 4,831-ton British merchant steamer Stanhall on the starboard side under the bridge with one torpedo 35 miles north-northwest of Ushant, Finistère, Bretagne, France at 1925 hours, killing 1. She sank within eleven minutes. 36 survivors, including the master, were rescued by British steamer Temple Moat, and they would later be landed at Weymouth, England, United Kingdom. The ship was carrying 7,630 tons of raw sugar and 350 tons of onions. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | Ushant, Bretagne | CPC, HM]
21 Jun 1940

France
  • At 0817 hours, the 1,177-ton unescorted Dutch steamer Berenice, carrying 1,000 tons of manganese ore and 22 passengers, was hit by one torpedo amidships by German submarine U-65 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) just off the island of Belle Île, France, causing her to sink within three minutes, killing 21 passengers and some of the crewmembers. A coastal vessel picked up nine survivors, including the master and Marsman's wife, the only surviving passenger. ww2dbase [U-65 | Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | Bangor, Bretagne | HM]
21 Jul 1940

France
9 Oct 1940

France
  • British Albacore biplanes of No. 829 Squadron from Royal Navy station HMS Peregrine attacked Brest, France overnight, damaging German destroyers Eckholdt, Lody, and Riedel with near misses. 1 Albacore aircraft was shot down with its three crew captured, including squadron commander Lieutenant Commander Stevinson. ww2dbase [Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
29 Nov 1940

France
  • German destroyers Galster, Lody, and Beitzen departed from Brest, France and raided British shipping off southern England, United Kingdom. British tug Aid, Free French tug Abeille, and British barge BHC10 were attacked and sunk. Royal Navy destroyers HMS Javelin, HMS Jersey, HMS Jackal, HMS Jupiter, and HMS Kashmir intercepted the raiders and engaged in combat 20 miles south of The Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall. HMS Javelin was seriously damaged by torpedo and gunfire, killing 46 aboard and causing her to lose both her bow and her stern, but she would be successfully towed to Devonport for repairs. The Germans suffered no casualties. ww2dbase [Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
22 Mar 1941

France
6 Apr 1941

France
  • RAF Beaufort aircraft torpedoed German battlecruiser Gneisenau at Brest, France. During this attack, Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell of No. 22 Squadron RAF Coastal Command, who scored the hit with an Mk XII torpedo, was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed with the loss of the entire crew. Campbell would be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his gallantry. ww2dbase [Gneisenau | Brest, Bretagne | CPC, AC]
1 Jun 1941

France
  • German cruiser Prinz Eugen arrived in Brest, France to join battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau docked there for refits. ww2dbase [Prinz Eugen | Brest, Bretagne | AC]
19 Dec 1941

France
  • In a daring daylight raid by 41 RAF Manchester bombers on the French port of Brest, the gates to the dock containing the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst were so badly damaged that the mighty warship would be confined at the port for a further month. Two aircraft of No. 97 Squadron were lost to ground fire and Luftwaffe fighters. ww2dbase [Scharnhorst | Brest, Bretagne | AC]
3 Feb 1942

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 arrived in Lorient, France after her first patrol where she circumnavigated the British Isles while engaging no ships and was subjected to no attacks. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
11 Feb 1942

France
  • German warships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen, accompanied by 6 destroyers, departed Brest, France at 2330 hours and began their dash through the English Channel. ww2dbase [Operation Cerberus | Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 departed Lorient, France on her second patrol. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
3 Mar 1942

France
  • RAF bombed the Renault plant in Billancourt, near Paris, France, while the Lancaster bomber made its debut mining the harbor at Brest, France. ww2dbase [Lancaster | Brest, Bretagne | TH]
7 Jun 1942

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 departed Lorient, France on her third patrol to the Caribbean Sea. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
5 Aug 1942

France
  • Japanese submarine I-30 arrived at Lorient, France, disembarking 3,300 pounds of mica, 1,452 pounds of shellac, and blueprints of the Type 91 aerial torpedo. ww2dbase [Lorient, Bretagne | CPC]
22 Aug 1942

France
  • Japanese submarine I-30 departed Lorient, France with 50 T-Enigma coding machines (which would enable communications between Japanese Navy and German Navy), blueprint of air-defense radar, 5 G7a torpedoes, and 3 G7e electric torpedoes, and other technologies on board. ww2dbase [Lorient, Bretagne | CPC]
25 Aug 1942

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 arrived at Lorient, France after her third patrol. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
6 Sep 1942

France
  • Kapitänleutnant Loewe was relieved of command of the German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 in Lorient, France and Kapitänleutnant Peter Zschech took command. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
4 Oct 1942

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 departed at Lorient, France on her fourth patrol to the northern coast of South America. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
11 Dec 1942

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 arrived at Lorient, France from her fourth patrol with the distinction of being the “most heavily damaged U-boat to successfully return to port.”. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
27 Apr 1943

France
  • German submarine U-518 arrived at Lorient, France and disembarked three prisoners captured from Swedish motor merchant Industria, which U-518 had sunk on 25 Mar 1943. The prisoners were later repatriated by aircraft to Sweden. ww2dbase [Lorient, Bretagne | HM]
1 Jul 1943

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 departed Lorient, France for her fifth patrol after six months in port for repairs. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
14 Jul 1943

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 arrived at Lorient, France after only 13 days due to damage from an attack by three British destroyers. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
9 Oct 1943

France
  • After ten months in port, German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 departed Lorient, France for her tenth Atlantic patrol seeking to break her run of bad luck and bad morale. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
7 Nov 1943

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 arrived at Lorient, France with damage from an attack by British destroyers. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
8 Nov 1943

France
  • Oberleutnant zur See Harald Lange assumed command of German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 at Lorient, France. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
8 Dec 1943

France
25 Dec 1943

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 departed Lorient, France for her eleventh patrol as part of wolfpack "Hela". ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
2 Jan 1944

France
  • German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 again returned early to Lorient, France after rescuing 33 crew members from the German torpedo boat T25 sunk on 28 Dec 1943 by British cruisers in the Bay of Biscay. ww2dbase [U-505 | Loirent, Bretagne | DS]
16 Mar 1944

France
6 Jun 1944

France
9 Jun 1944

France
  • German 8th Destroyer Flotilla (destroyer Z32, destroyer Z24, destroyer ZH1, and torpedo boat T24) departed Brest, France, sailing for Cherbourg. They were surprised and attacked by eight Allied destroyers. British destroyer HMS Ashanti sank ZH1 with torpedoes; ZH1 had previously been the lead ship of Dutch Gerard Callenburgh-class destroyers, captured by the Germans in 1940. Canadian destroyers HMCS Haida and HMCS Huron damaged Z32, forcing her to run aground on Île de Batz on the Brittany coast of France, wrecking Z32 in the process. Z24 and T24 successfully escaped the Allied attack. British destroyer HMS Tartar was damaged. ww2dbase [Z32 | T24 | Z24 | Bretagne | HM]
10 Jun 1944

France
20 Jul 1944

France
2 Aug 1944

France
20 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 20 Aug 1944
The port of Brest, France after British aerial bombardment, circa late Aug 1944German prisoners of war, Saint-Malo, France, late Aug 1944
23 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 23 Aug 1944
HMS Mauritius firing on German targets in Audierne Bay, France, 23 Aug 1944
1 Sep 1944

France
11 Sep 1946

France

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Public humiliation of Japanese prisoners of war aboard USS New Jersey, Dec 1944, photo 6 of 6

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