The academy moves ashore, suffers war damage, and rebuilds

Plans for a land academy existed before the First World War, but the government did not fund them. A foundation stone was finally laid in 1929, followed by separate building and school inaugurations in the mid-1930s. The chronology remains uncertain because contemporary newspapers distinguish between ceremonies for the buildings and the school, and repeated presidential appearances may have served political publicity. Severe wartime damage forced a temporary transfer to the Lanvéoc seaplane base, where the modern academy was rebuilt by order of Charles de Gaulle. Names such as Borda, Orion, and Intrépide survive in the new campus's rooms and buildings. The older Saint-Pierre site later became the Brest naval training center for a naval high school, petty-officer instruction, and marine training.