Jean Bart

13.3

Jean Bart

Battleship | France | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points69,000

Main Battery

380 mm/45 Mle 1935 in a turret2 х 4 pcs.

Rate of Fire2.31 shots/min.

Reload Time26 sec.

Rotation Speed5 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time36 sec.

Firing Range24.52 km.

Maximum Dispersion306 m.

HE Shell380 mm HE OEA Mle 1945

Maximum HE Shell Damage5,400

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell36 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity830 m./s.

HE Shell Weight884 kg.

AP Shell380 mm AP OPfK Mle 1943

Maximum AP Shell Damage11,900

Initial AP Shell Velocity830 m./s.

AP Shell Weight885 kg.

Secondary Armament #1

100 mm/55 Mle 1945 on a CAD Mle 1945 mount12 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range7.95 km.

Rate of Fire20 shots/min.

Reload Time3 sec.

HE Shell100 mm HE OEA Mle 1945

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,400

Initial HE Shell Velocity855 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 %

Secondary Armament #2

152 mm/55 Mle 1930 on an Mle 1936 mount3 х 3 pcs.

Firing Range7.95 km.

Rate of Fire5 shots/min.

Reload Time12 sec.

HE Shell152 mm HE OEA Mle 1937

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,200

Initial HE Shell Velocity870 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell12 %

AA Defense

100 mm/55 Mle 1945 on a CAD Mle 1945 mount12 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second177.6

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

152 mm/55 Mle 1930 on an Mle 1936 mount3 х 3 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second24.9

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

57 mm/60 Mle 1951 on an ACAD Mle 1948 mount14 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second357

. . . Firing Range3.81 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed30 knot

Turning Circle Radius850 m.

Rudder Shift Time16 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range15.89 km.

Air Detectability Range11.33 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

13.3

Jean Bart

Battleship | France | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points69,000

Main Battery

380 mm/45 Mle 1935 in a turret2 х 4 pcs.

Rate of Fire2.31 shots/min.

Reload Time26 sec.

Rotation Speed5 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time36 sec.

Firing Range24.52 km.

Maximum Dispersion306 m.

HE Shell380 mm HE OEA Mle 1945

Maximum HE Shell Damage5,400

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell36 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity830 m./s.

HE Shell Weight884 kg.

AP Shell380 mm AP OPfK Mle 1943

Maximum AP Shell Damage11,900

Initial AP Shell Velocity830 m./s.

AP Shell Weight885 kg.

Secondary Armament #1

100 mm/55 Mle 1945 on a CAD Mle 1945 mount12 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range7.95 km.

Rate of Fire20 shots/min.

Reload Time3 sec.

HE Shell100 mm HE OEA Mle 1945

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,400

Initial HE Shell Velocity855 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 %

Secondary Armament #2

152 mm/55 Mle 1930 on an Mle 1936 mount3 х 3 pcs.

Firing Range7.95 km.

Rate of Fire5 shots/min.

Reload Time12 sec.

HE Shell152 mm HE OEA Mle 1937

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,200

Initial HE Shell Velocity870 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell12 %

AA Defense

100 mm/55 Mle 1945 on a CAD Mle 1945 mount12 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second177.6

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

152 mm/55 Mle 1930 on an Mle 1936 mount3 х 3 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second24.9

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

57 mm/60 Mle 1951 on an ACAD Mle 1948 mount14 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second357

. . . Firing Range3.81 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed30 knot

Turning Circle Radius850 m.

Rudder Shift Time16 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range15.89 km.

Air Detectability Range11.33 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

IX

Special

Jean Bart — French special premium Tier IX battleship.

A Richelieu-class battleship known for her high speed and powerful anti-torpedo defense. In the process of her completion in the late 1940s, she received the most advanced anti-aircraft artillery systems for that time, which significantly increased the ship's AA defense.

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
380 mm/45 Mle 1935 in a turret	2.3	36	306	5,400	36	11,900		0	0

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Jean Bart	69,000	19	430	2	12/3	14/12/3				0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
PCA n° 9 Mle 1		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 150,000 hp	30		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5
Slot 6

Player Opinion

Performance

For the most part, Jean Bart could simply be considered a better Richelieu, and in many ways, this is true. Sitting a tier higher than her sister ship, it would be unusual if Jean Bart weren't stronger in some form or another; in this case being a general, all around upgrade with a few unusual quirks to set her out from the crowd.

Jean Bart sits on the low end of health points for tier nine battleships. While her 69,000 health is an improvement over Richelieu's best hull, it still falls somewhat short when compared to her compatriots, which can lead to some issues when compounded with the relitive thinness of Jean Bart's hull armor. She can find herself in somewhat vulnerable situations, as heavy cruisers and light cruisers using the Inertia Fuse for HE Shells skill can easily deal full damage to almost any part of the ship. Additionally, while Jean Bart's secondary battery sounds good, in practice it's somewhat unwieldy. The mounts themselves are relatively weak, being knocked out with great regularity over the course of a battle. And while there are quite a number of secondary mounts on Jean Bart, they are largely composed of small, 100mm guns—a caliber unable to penetrate the vast majority of targets at tier nine. All of her secondaries are also capped to a 10.6km range, unlike Alsace and République.

Aspects of Jean Bart's hull aren't the ship's major draw, though. That honor instead goes to her main battery guns, which provide a massive increase in offensive firepower when compared to Richelieu's. They have a 26 second reload, generally better shell groupings, and access to a special Main Battery Reload Booster  consumable; which halves main batter reload time for twenty seconds. In addition, she retains the high velocity shells found in other high tier French battleships. Even though they are just 380mm guns, and thus unable to overmatch a number of high tier cruisers, the penetration of her shells are more than enough to punish broadside ships. Compound the Reload Booster on her excellent ballistics, and Jean Bart can be downright brutal to enemy ships upon making a positioning mistake. She can also make use of her good top speed and maneuverability to exploit enemy positions, utilising her guns as to discourage the other team's ships.

LittleWhiteMouse's Premium Ship Review: Jean Bart from the NA forums

Pros:

• Relatively short reload of 26 seconds on her main battery which can be further enhanced by her Main Battery Reload Booster .
• Relatively fast top speed of 30knots which can be increased with Engine Boost  to 32.4 knots. Increasing further with the Sierra Mike () signal flag to 34 knots.
• 7km base secondary range able to reach 10.6km when running a secondary build.
• All of her secondaries fire HE with her 152's boasting an impressive 12% fire chance combined with a rapid reload.
• Good concealment allows Jean Bart able to reach 12.3 km surface detection.
• Excellent range of 24.5km on her main guns.
• Her forward armament placement allows for easy angling of her armor.
• Good rudder shift time and turning circle.
• One of the best AA suites at tier IX make her a deadly ship against enemy aircraft.

Cons:

• Lowest HP of any tier IX Battleship
• 32mm plating vulnerable to HE spam
• Weakest broadside of any tier 9 battleship with little overmatch ability.
• Most AA power is in weak mid-range mounts.
• Most secondaries are unable to deal direct damage to many surface targets.
• Secondary guns can get easily taken out with HE spam.

Research

As a premium ship, Jean Bart doesn't have any upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Jean Bart are as follows:

• Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
• Slot 2: Engine Boost Modification 1 or Damage Control System Modification 1 
• Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
• Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2
• Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
• Slot 6: Main Battery Modification 3

Commander Skills

Key skills for Jean Bart commanders focused on survivability include Preventative Maintenance, Expert Marksman, Basics of Survivability, and Concealment Expert.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines. ★★★	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched. ★	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time.	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire. ★	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes.
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable. ★	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables. ★★	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm. ★★★	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range.	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen.	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost. ★★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated.
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding. ★★★	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier.	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes.	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage.	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns. ★★	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship. ★★★	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target.	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes.
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of shells from secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three. ★★★	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +30% to the armor penetration capacity of HE shells. -1% chance of fire on target caused by shells <=139mm. -3% chance of fire on target caused by shells >139mm.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +5% attack aircraft aiming speed. +5% torpedo bomber aiming speed. +10% dive bomber aiming speed.	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% damage/sec. within the explosion radius of shells fired from long-range AA defenses. ★★	Massive AA Fire Instantaneous Damage +100%. Priority AA sector cooldown +50%.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful       ★★ - Frequently Useful       ★ - Occasionally Useful      No stars - Meh     Χ - Not recommended

Consumables

Jean Bart can equip the following consumables:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
• Slot 2: Repair Party 
• Slot 3: Main Battery Reload Booster 
• Slot 4: Engine Boost 

Premium variants of the consumables can be equipped to improve her performance in battle.

Signals

Jean Bart captains should mount standard signal flags to improve the ship's performance in battle. Sierra Mike () flags are highly recommended to increase the ship's top speed. India Delta () and India Yankee () flags should be mounted to improve the ship's survivability. November Foxtrot () flags can also be mounted to decrease consumable cooldown time. Lastly, economic and special signal flags can be mounted to increase the ship's economic gains per battle.

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation. ★	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration. ★	India Yankee -20% to fire duration. ★★★	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy. ★	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding.	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time. ★★	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★★★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

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Historical Info

Jean Bart, 1953

Construction

Builder: Chantiers de Penhoët; St. Nazaire, France

Laid down: 12th December 1936

Launched: 6th March 1940

Commissioned: April 1950

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Specifications

37,832 tons displacement, standard

248m length

35m beam

9.2m draft

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Machinery

Six Sural-Indret Boilers and four turbines, one for each shaft

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Performance

31.5 knots at 42,000 shaft horsepower

8,000 nm at 14 knots

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Armor

Main belt: 330mm inclined at 15.5°

Torpedo bulkhead: 40-50mm

Decks: 170mm above the magazines, 150mm above the machinery

Bulkheads: up to 355mm forward, up to 233mm towards the stern

Barbettes and Turrets: 405mm barbettes, 430mm turret face plates, 170mm turret roof

Conning tower: 431mm sides, 283mm roof

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Armament

Main

Eight (4x2) 380mm/45 Model 1935

Secondary

Nine (3x3) 152mm/50 Model 1930

Twenty-four (12x2) 100mm/55 Model 1945

Anti-aircraft

Twenty-eight (14x2) 57mm/60 Model 1951

File:PICTURE.JPG

CAPTION.

History

Jean Bart was a French battleship of World War II, named for the 17th-century seaman, privateer, and corsair Jean Bart. She was the second Richelieu-class battleship. Derived from the Dunkerque class, Jean Bart (and her sister ship Richelieu) were designed to fight the new battleships of the Italian Navy. Their speed, shielding, armament, and overall technology were state of the art, but they had a rather unusual main battery armament arrangement, with two 4-gun turrets forward and none aft.
Jean Bart was incomplete when France surrendered to Germany in June 1940. She sailed from Saint-Nazaire to Casablanca just before the Armistice. She was sunk in harbour in 1942. After the war she was re-floated, completed with an updated anti-aircraft battery, and entered service in 1955. She had a very short career: Jean Bart was put into reserve in 1957, decommissioned in 1961, and scrapped in 1969.

Design

Jean Bart was meant to be a largely identical sibling to her sister Richelieu, but because of historical circumstances – namely, the Fall of France – this was not quite the case. As laid down, she was to be identical to her sister, a 35000-ton design meant to counter the Italian Littorio-class, adopting the unique 2x4 main battery layout in order to save weight. However, the defeat of Allied armies in northeastern France forced Jean Bart to be evacuated from France to Casablanca in Morocco before completion, and this would ultimately render her completed in a unique manner.

Her life at Casablanca saw her in a hap-hazard state, with only a single main battery turret, and her anti-aircraft armament made up of leftover 90mm guns and whatever 37mm cannons and machine guns (down to even 8mm) could be found. After Operation Torch, her battle with Massachusetts, and damage from the Ranger's SBD Dauntless dive bombers, Jean Bart fell into Allied hands, and the idea of an American refit, similar to what Richelieu received, was discussed.

Two ideas predominated French plans. The idea of Jean Bart as a surface combatant had taken a back seat – her 380mm guns were to be replaced by 340mm guns from the old WWI battleship Lorraine, captured by the British in Alexandria during Operation Catapult in 1940. In the first design, in place of her No.2 turret, 152mm mounts (which were never fitted), and 90mm guns, fifteen USN 5”/38 Mk.32 twin Dual-Purpose mountings were to be fitted. She would also receive sixteen quadruple Bofors 40mm cannon mountings, and fifty Oerlikon 20mm cannon single mounts. Her aviation facilities would be able to launch up to six aircraft, American or British naval bombers or fighters. The second variant focused purely on AA, and featured seventeen 5”/38 mounts, and twenty quad 40mm Bofors mounts.

Despite this, the United States refused to offer any reconstructions to Jean Bart, or divert any resources to the incomplete and damaged battleship. Instead, she would have to wait until after the war. On 22 February 1945, the CSM (Consiel Superieur de la Marine) decided to complete Jean Bart, although how was still to be decided, as many in the Marine Nationale, such as Admirals Barjot and Férnard, wanted to complete her as an Aircraft carrier. Due to the unimpressive characteristics of conversion designs alongside their prohibitive costs, the CSM decided against this, and thus instead began to focus on her completion as a battleship. This ultimately manifested as a ship that would resemble the Richelieu, but with vastly increased Anti-Aircraft capabilities.

Thanks to the benefits of the experience of operating the Richelieu, many of the flaws of the Richelieu-class could be solved in construction, rather than manifesting in service. Thus her main battery received built-in firing delays to combat excessive dispersion, and her improved ammunition handling allowed the guns to complete their firing cycle in 32 seconds, for a maximum rate of fire of 1.9 rpm. They retained the three aft 152mm triple mounts like Richelieu, and they retained their anti-air ability. Her main heavy anti-air, however, would come from twelve 100mm/45 CAD Mle 1946 twin mountings, which were fully stabilized and equipped with RPC (Remote Power Control). With an extremely high rate of fire of 20-25 rpm and good ceiling, they were excellent anti-aircraft guns, although their effectiveness was hampered greatly by the poor performance of their ACAE Fire Control Radar. Finally, for closer-range defense came the excellent 57mm/60 Mle 1947, a weapon produced under license from Bofors. Although the gun came from Bofors, all elements of the mounting was developed by the navy’s Services Techniques, and it also had full RPC. Fourteen twin mounts (ACAD Mle 1948) were utilized by the Jean Bart, which paired with the DRBC Radar (which automatically followed targets) made these powerful and rapid-firing guns lethal with no more human involvement that the simple press of a button. In the end, when Jean Bart was finally completed in 1955, she was over 5000 tons heavier than Richelieu was when she had first been ‘completed’ in 1940.

Before the end of her life, three more projects were proposed to modernize the last French battleship.

The first, in 1957, envisioned her twelve 100mm mountings stripped and replaced by 100mm/55 CAS Mle 1953, which was not only slightly more powerful than the Mle 1946, but also had more than twice the rate of fire, able to output 60 rpm. Some 57mm mounts would also be replaced with these 100mm guns. The second, in 1958, envisioned a far more radical change to a missile battleship, with different versions involving missile counts from as low as 25 to as much as 325. A third option would have seen a 152mm turret removed and replaced with a Terrier SAM system, for training purposes only.

None were chosen.

Service

Jean Bart was launched on 6 March 1940, in the middle of the ‘phoney war’. Although she was supposed to be completed in early 1941, the end of the phoney war and the Fall of France would totally destroy these plans and force the French to evacuate the Jean Bart from France. By May 1940 as the Allies buckled under the German offensives French workers focused on making her able to get to sea first and foremost, and this effort consumed almost all the attention of the facility with some 3,050 workers on 12-hour shifts to get her ready. Eventually, through painstaking effort, despite the fact only half her boilers and half her main battery were installed, Jean Bart was ready to escape. On the 19th of June at 0330 three tugs pulled her out of the fitting-out dock into a hastily dredged channel that was only 45 meters across and for which Jean Bart’s hull only had a 30 cm clearance in regards to the bottom. However, the darkness made it difficult to see the buoys marking the channel, and she soon grounded by the bow. By 0445 she had finally been freed, and started her engines up for the first time – not a moment too soon, as just then three He.111’s arrived overhead and bombed the incomplete battleship, inflicting one hit with a 100 kg bomb that dealt insignificant damage. Making 12 knots, she headed for the open ocean, and at 0630 met up with two le Hardi-class destroyers as escort. A British destroyer and two tugs attempted to bring the French battleship to Britain, but the French declined this, and continued to Casablanca, eventually picking up speed to 24 knots after refueling. With only one operational engine room, she experienced numerous breakdowns and difficulties on her voyage and finally reached Casablanca on the evening of the 22nd. In the wake of her arrival, despite the disagreement of her captain (Captain Ronarc’h), much of her anti-aircraft battery was stripped for the defense of the port – leaving only four 13.2mm machine guns behind. Following the British attacks in Operation Catapult, steps were taken to prepare the ship for any attacks, such as cementing over empty barbettes, sealing off incomplete compartments, finally adding more 13.2mm (and one 8mm) machine guns for defense, as well as setting up rudimentary fire-control capabilities. More weaponry would be added as time went on, including 37mm cannons and 90mm heavy AA guns.

In November 1942, the Allies initiated Operation Torch, the invasion of Vichy North Africa. Part of this campaign was the Naval battle of Casablanca, which Jean Bart was a part of. Although immobile, Jean Bart fought from her moorings as a French squadron of contre-torpilleurs lead by a light cruiser engaged American warships in a surface action. Jean Bart entered the action at 0708, firing a two-gun salvo from her 380mm turret at the battleship Massachusetts at a range of 22000 meters, her shells falling 600 yards of the starboard bow of the American ship. Three more salvoes followed until 0719, as the makeshift rangefinders could no longer target the American ships. Massachusetts returned fire with her nine 16” guns, and quickly started hitting. At 0725 a 16” shell punched in aft through Jean Bart’s armor decks, detonating against the aft transverse bulkhead inside a fortunately empty 152mm magazine. At 0735 a second shell passed through the bottom of the bow, exploding in the water. A minute later a near miss hit the quay and sent splinters into the side of the ship, and the minute after another shell passed through the funnel, clipped the end of the armor deck, and exited out the side of the hull into the water. A fourth shell passed through the tip of the quay and bounced of the Jean Bart’s main armor belt, failing to explode. For a brief while Jean Bart had some respite, until 0806 when another 16” shell struck the turret I barbette, demolishing a 90mm mount in the process and ricocheting away, jamming the turret, while another shell in the same salvo stuck the second turret barbette, breaking up and failing to penetrate. The last hit was scored at 0810, passing through the armor deck over the steering gear and detonating beneath the steering gears. Jean Bart was battered by the bombardment, but was not out of the fight. Within ten hours her turret had been un-jammed, and the two days later she surprised the cruiser Augusta by opening fire on her at a range of 16000 meters. Her second salvo landed close enough to dye the front of the American ship orange with the splash, and her seventh salvo straddled the heavy cruiser, as did the two following salvoes. The Americans, no longer willing to deal with the French battleship from the sea, ordered an airstrike, and at 1500 SBD dive-bombers from the carrier Ranger dove on the French warship with 1000 lb. bombs. Two hits were scored, the first obliterating the forecastle deck, and the second hitting starboard abreast the aircraft hangar, blasting open the side of the ship. Both hits caused massive fires, and took the French warship out of the fight.

Repairs started not long after the fall of Casablanca, and the French aimed to send the battleship to America for a refit similar to that of her sister Richelieu. Despite their efforts, the Americans refused to refit a second French battleship, and she remained as she was until after the war.

It would not be until August of 1945 that Jean Bart finally returned to France, arriving at Cherbourg on the 29th. There she remained idle while deliberations about her fate took place, and eventually it was decided to complete her as a battleship, work beginning on the 11th of March 1946. Work was largely completed in January of 1949, and soon after conducted machinery and gunnery trials. In April of 1950 was considered officially complete, however, this was far from the truth, the battleship lacking much of her anti-aircraft armament. This work was continued in late 1951, and it would not be until May 1955 that she finally became active within the Marine Nationale, and was substantially upgraded in anti-aircraft power and overall fire control compared to her sister Richelieu. However, her state was mostly that of training and diplomatic visits until the 1956 Suez Crisis. This caught Jean Bart, not fully manned, off guard, and although substantial effort was put into making her fully operational, only one 380mm and one 152mm was fully manned, and a similar state of operation was available from her AA guns. Jean Bart lead a force of two light carriers, a light cruiser, and four destroyers. She embarked troops, which were transferred to the landing force, and then was sent to bombard Port Said. However, she only fired four 380mm shells before the operation was cancelled and Jean Bart returned to France.

Her career wound down from this point – her last training mission was in July of 1957, and it would be the last time any of her weapons fired. On the 1st of August she was placed into ‘reserve A’ and turned into a Barracks ship, and although proposals were made to further upgrade the battleship, the costs of operating her were too great, and the benefits too little. In 1961 was placed into reserve B, and she languished in this state until February of 1970, when she was stricken from the French naval register. On May 21st she was sold to a French breaking company, and was towed to Brégaillon, where she was broken up over the course of two years alongside the light cruiser Montcalm, the two ships providing 30,000 tons of scrap iron and 750 tons of nickel.

Historical Gallery

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  Jean Bart in the harbor of Casablanca, photographed by a plane from USS Ranger. Turret number two was not yet operational.

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  Jean Bart incomplete in Casablanca harbor, taken from an airplane of USS Ranger

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  Jean Bart attacked by planes of USS Ranger

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  Damaged Jean Bart photographed in Casablanca on November 16, 1942

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  Battleship Jean Bart in 1968 in the harbour of Toulon

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  Battleship Jean Bart in 1968

Video

Ships of France

Battleships