The Brest Arsenal is a collection of naval and military buildings located on the banks of the river Penfeld

Penfeld

The Penfeld, Penfell in Breton, is a 16 km-long French coastal river. On its left bank has grown up the town of Brest in Finistère.-Course:...

, in Brest, France

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

. It is located at 48°23′12"N 4°29′48"W.

Timeline

• 1631-1635 Beginning of the foundations of the port infrastructure.
• 1674 Appearance of the Powder Magazines, Cordellerie and Military Hospital.
• 1683 Creation of the Troulan dock.
• 1746 Creation of the three Pontaniou docks near the anchor forges and naval constructions.
• 1752 Construction of the Bagne demolished in 1947.
• 1807 Construction of the Bâtiment aux Lions to house the arsenal's magazines.
• 1822-1827 Construction of Bassin 6 at the Salou.
• 1858 Appropriation of the Tourville and Jean Bart quays by the navy.
• 1864-1865 Construction of Bassin 7 at the Salou.
• 1865 Closure of the Penfeld port to commercial boats, turning it into a military port.
• 1889-1896 Construction of the South Jetty (1 500 m).
• 1895-1900 Construction of the West Jetty (200 m).
• 1899-1902 Transformation of the four Pontaniou docks into 2 large basins, now known as Basin 2 and Basin 3.
• 1900-1905 South Jetty extended by 750 m.
• 1905 Construction of the Quai d'Armement.
• 1910 Installation of the Grande Grue.
• 1910-1916 Digging of the two construction docks and of the Laninon dry dock, now known as Basin 8 and Basin 9.
• 1911 Infilling of the terreplein
  Terreplein
  Terreplein, or terre-plein — in fortifications is the top, platform, or horizontal surface, of a rampart, on which cannon are placed. In Martello towers, the roof or terreplein was sometimes surmounted with one or two cannon on a gun platform with a central pivot that enabled the guns to rotate up...
  
   of Brest Castle.
• 1918 Construction of the Quai des Flottilles.
• 1931-1933 Closure of the western passage.
• 1938 Work begun on the construction of Bassin 10 de Laninon (work abandoned 1939-1945).
• 1940 Construction of the Submarine Base during the German occupation - the military port became an important German strategic base.
• 1963-1964 Jetty enlarged.
• 1969-1970 Construction of aircraft-carrier locks 3 and 4.

Quays, locks and jetties

Penfeld quays

The Penfeld

Penfeld

The Penfeld, Penfell in Breton, is a 16 km-long French coastal river. On its left bank has grown up the town of Brest in Finistère.-Course:...

, within the military enclosure, is almost wholly lined with quays, but ships cannot come directly alongside these quays because of heads of rock that are left exposed at low tide. That's why floating stages are moored fore and aft, mainly on the left bank, to make up postes where some “small” ships can come alongside and use some installations such as the large crane.

Little used upstream of the Pont de Recouvrance

Pont de Recouvrance

The pont de Recouvrance is a vertical-lift bridge in Brest, France, across the river Penfeld. Opened on 17 July 1954, it was the largest vertical-lift bridge in Europe until the opening of the Pont Gustave-Flaubert in 2008...

, downstream of this bridge these postes nevertheless serve the old sailing ships of the Navy, the tugboats and other support boats of the arsenal, and transrades, passenger ship

Passenger ship

A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...

s which provide a service across the roadstead

Roadstead of Brest

The roadstead of Brest is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² . The port of Brest is located on its northern edge and one of the two French naval bases...

 (rade de Brest) between Brest and the Crozon

Crozon

Crozon is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.Crozon is located on the Crozon peninsula on the west coast of Finistère. It is bordered by the communes of Camaret-sur-Mer to the west, Roscanvel to the northwest, Lanvéoc to the north, Landévennec to the...

 peninsula (Île Longue

Île Longue

Île Longue is a peninsula of the roadstead of Brest. It is the base of the SNLE, the French ballistic missile submarines, and as such one of the most secretive and heavily defended places in France.-Geography:...

, École Navale

École Navale

The École Navale is the French Naval Academy in charge of the education of the officers of the French Navy.The academy was founded in 1830 by the order of King Louis-Philippe...

)

See also

• Île Longue
  Île Longue
  Île Longue is a peninsula of the roadstead of Brest. It is the base of the SNLE, the French ballistic missile submarines, and as such one of the most secretive and heavily defended places in France.-Geography:...
  
  
• Pont de Recouvrance
  Pont de Recouvrance
  The pont de Recouvrance is a vertical-lift bridge in Brest, France, across the river Penfeld. Opened on 17 July 1954, it was the largest vertical-lift bridge in Europe until the opening of the Pont Gustave-Flaubert in 2008...
  
  
• Recouvrance
  Recouvrance, Brest
  Recouvrance is the section of the city of Brest, France which lies on the right bank of the river Penfeld. It is a popularly and historically Breton quarter, in contrast to the largely Francophone quarter of Brest-même or Brest-proper on the left bank....
  
  
• Penfeld
  Penfeld
  The Penfeld, Penfell in Breton, is a 16 km-long French coastal river. On its left bank has grown up the town of Brest in Finistère.-Course:...
  
  
• Rue Saint-Malo
  Rue Saint-Malo
  Rue Saint-Malo is a paved street in Brest, France. It is located in the Carpon valley, against the plateau des Capucins in the Recouvrance quarter. Only its lower half survives, as the oldest street in the city....
  
  

External links

• High command of the Brest maritime arrondissement French Navy site