Béarn

13.8

Béarn

Aircraft Carrier | France | Tier VI

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points44,700

Secondary Armament #1

155 mm/50 Mle 1920 on a casemate mount8 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range5.6 km.

Rate of Fire6.67 shots/min.

Reload Time9 sec.

HE Shell155 mm HE OEA Mle 1920

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,200

Initial HE Shell Velocity870 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell11 %

AA Defense

13.2 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1929 on a CAD Mle 1929 mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second21

. . . Firing Range1.2 km.

37 mm/50 Mle 1925 on a CA Mle 1925 mount8 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second12.8

. . . Firing Range3 km.

75 mm/50 Mle 1922 on an Mle 1922 mount6 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second21.6

. . . Firing Range3 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed21.5 knot

Turning Circle Radius790 m.

Rudder Shift Time12.9 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.57 km.

Air Detectability Range9.18 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

13.8

Béarn

Aircraft Carrier | France | Tier VI

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points44,700

Secondary Armament #1

155 mm/50 Mle 1920 on a casemate mount8 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range5.6 km.

Rate of Fire6.67 shots/min.

Reload Time9 sec.

HE Shell155 mm HE OEA Mle 1920

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,200

Initial HE Shell Velocity870 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell11 %

AA Defense

13.2 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1929 on a CAD Mle 1929 mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second21

. . . Firing Range1.2 km.

37 mm/50 Mle 1925 on a CA Mle 1925 mount8 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second12.8

. . . Firing Range3 km.

75 mm/50 Mle 1922 on an Mle 1922 mount6 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second21.6

. . . Firing Range3 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed21.5 knot

Turning Circle Radius790 m.

Rudder Shift Time12.9 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.57 km.

Air Detectability Range9.18 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

VI

Special

Béarn — French special premium Tier VI aircraft сarrier.

Béarn was laid down as a Normandie-class battleship, but unlike her sister ships, she featured a turbine propulsion unit instead of a mixed one. After the Washington Naval Conference, the ship was rebuilt as an aircraft carrier. In the late 1930s, it was decided to re-equip Béarn as a seaplane base while retaining the possibility of housing wheeled aircraft; however, the outbreak of World War II hindered these plans. During the war, Béarn transported aircraft, gold, troops, and equipment.

Béarn was first released for sale in December of 2021.

Modules

	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 ()
Béarn	44,700	10	83		8	6/8/6				0	0

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Vought V-156F		123	1,490		0	0

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 39,000 hp	21.5		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning: The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

Béarn is a support carrier that can specialize in a more defensive playstyle. Her strike planes are solid, but her fighters are amazing. Due to this, this carrier does well in counter carrier tactics which can be effective in random battles but even more so in ranked battles.

Vought V-156F Skip Bombers

Her skip bombers are effective against all ship classes. The bombs have solid alpha, good fire chance, and break the 26mm and 32mm armor threshold for battleships all the way to tier 8. They are also accurate and only skip two times therefore making them easier to aim which helps hit destroyers more consistently. However, unlike the skip bombers found on Max Immelmann and the Russian aircraft carriers, the skip bombers have a longer attack initiation phase before the skip bombs are able to be dropped, so attacks must be planned in advance. A full squad drops 4 bombs per attack run and can make 4 attack runs with a single squad, making Bearn quite effective against destroyers.

Vought V-156F Dive Bombers

The armor-piercing dive bombers are only effective against capital ships. Unlike other carriers in tier, each attack run drops four AP bombs instead of two, making her damage output more consistent. However, the AP bombs have low alpha and lower pen, and thus require proper reticle lineup and careful target selection to get the full value out of each drop.

Patrol Fighters

Finally, the high-power patrol fighters are what makes the Bearn unique. With high health and a large patrol radius, these fighters resist anti-aircraft fire and greatly restrict enemy aircraft movement. Unlike other carriers in tier, Béarns fighters come in squadrons of eight instead of three. Thus, with a successful lock-on, one fighter deployment can shoot-down an entire enemy attack squadron. With a long 100 second base action time, these fighters pose a significant threat across multiple enemy attack waves. Furthermore, as each squadron type carries eight consumables, Béarns can maintain fighter coverage during the entire match. The fighters' only weakness is a substandard 2km spotting range. To mitigate this, captains can run Interceptor to increase patrol radius and grant immunity to counter-fighter deployments. However, spotting may still be desired so captains should spec into Search and Destroy and Enhanced Reactions to get the most out of Béarn.

When commanding the Béarn, captains should look for air space to deploy their patrol fighters with every single plane deployment. Doing this properly will slow down or completely counter the opposing aircraft carrier. However, keep in mind that Béarnshould also be striking enemy vessels as much as possible. Thus, fighters should be strategically dropped in a time-efficient manner on the way to your target.

Pros:

• High durability and high patrol radius on fighters
• Fighter squadrons shoot down eight planes instead of three or four
• Fighter consumables have eight uses instead of three
• Above-average plane speed and durability reduces losses to AA during strikes
• Skip bombs deal good damage with good penetration and fire chance
• Dive bombers drop four bombers instead of two, giving it a high theoretical alpha strike
• Relatively tanky hull for a tier VI carrier

Cons:

• Slow hull speed
• Weak secondaries and anti-air
• Middling hull concealment
• Low fighter view range (2 km)
• Low individual AP bomb damage
• Lacks a third squadron type
• Lacks torpedo bombers and rocket attack aircraft

Research

As a premium ship, Béarn has no module upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Captains should build Béarn for a full defensive build or for a semi offensive support build. This decision revolves around whether or not your commander is specialized with the interceptor skill.

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Béarn are as follows:

• Slot 1: Air Groups Modification 1 for better availability of planes when you need them.
• Slot 2: Aircraft Engines Modification 1 for higher cruising speed.
• Slot 3: Skip Bomber Modification 1 for longer attack time.
• Slot 4: Bombers Modification 1 for a larger HP pool.

Commander Skills

It is recommended to use Philippe Auboyneau for improved Survivability Expert.

• Note: Hidden Menace states that your planes reach safe altitude at 50% lower height which is not true because your planes are still vulnerable to flak, therefore the skill is bugged and not recommended.

Full Defense Build

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense		Support
1	Last Gasp Completely restores engine boost for the last attack squadron.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. ★	Engine Techie -20% Engine Cooling cooldown time.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time.	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to CAP squadrons.	Search and Destroy +10% to action radius of Patrol Fighter and Interceptor squadrons. ★★★
2	Torpedo Bomber -10% torpedo arming distance.	Swift Fish +5% to torpedo speed.	Improved Engines +2.5% aircraft squadron speed. ★★★	Repair Specialist +1 In-flight Repair consumable +10% its action time.	Secondary Armament Expert +10% flak and continuous damage -10% secondary battery reload time.	Patrol Group Leader +1 fighter to Patrol Fighter or Interceptor squadrons.
3	Sight Stabilization +7.5% aiming speed.	Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition +3% damage from AP bombs and rockets.	Pyrotechnician +1% chance of HE rockets causing a fire. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire.	Aircraft Armor -10% continuous AA damage while in an aura. ★★★	Survivability Expert +25 aircraft HP per ship tier. ★★★	Interceptor Interceptors replace Patrol Fighters:  +10% action radius.  Invulnerable to fighters.  Cannot attack fighters.  Cannot spot ships. ★
4	Bomber Flight Control +5% speed all bomber types. ★★	Proximity Fuze -10% (absolute) to target's torpedo protection.	Close Quarters Expert Secondary batteries: +20% range -30% dispersion.	Enhanced Aircraft Armor -25% damage from flak.	Hidden Menace -15% ship detectability range. -20% Damage Control Party cooldown. +50% aircraft return time.	Enhanced Reactions -80% time before activated Patrol Fighters or Interceptors attack. +25% action time. +50% cooldown time. ★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful      ★★ - Frequently Useful      ★ - Occasionally Useful     No stars - Not Useful

Offensive Support Build

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense		Support
1	Last Gasp Completely restores engine boost for the last attack squadron.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Engine Techie -20% Engine Cooling cooldown time.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time.	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to CAP squadrons.	Search and Destroy +10% to action radius of Patrol Fighter and Interceptor squadrons. ★★★
2	Torpedo Bomber -10% torpedo arming distance.	Swift Fish +5% to torpedo speed.	Improved Engines +2.5% aircraft squadron speed. ★★★	Repair Specialist +1 In-flight Repair consumable +10% its action time.	Secondary Armament Expert +10% flak and continuous damage -10% secondary battery reload time.	Patrol Group Leader +1 fighter to Patrol Fighter or Interceptor squadrons.
3	Sight Stabilization +7.5% aiming speed.	Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition +3% damage from AP bombs and rockets.	Pyrotechnician +1% chance of HE rockets causing a fire. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire.	Aircraft Armor -10% continuous AA damage while in an aura. ★★★	Survivability Expert +25 aircraft HP per ship tier. ★★★	Interceptor Interceptors replace Patrol Fighters:  +10% action radius.  Invulnerable to fighters.  Cannot attack fighters.  Cannot spot ships.
4	Bomber Flight Control +5% speed all bomber types. ★★	Proximity Fuze -10% (absolute) to target's torpedo protection.	Close Quarters Expert Secondary batteries: +20% range -30% dispersion.	Enhanced Aircraft Armor -25% damage from flak. ★	Hidden Menace -15% ship detectability range. -20% Damage Control Party cooldown. +50% aircraft return time.	Enhanced Reactions -80% time before activated Patrol Fighters or Interceptors attack. +25% action time. +50% cooldown time. ★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful      ★★ - Frequently Useful      ★ - Occasionally Useful     No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

The consumables available for the ship and each plane type for Béarn are the same as the other T6 CVs and are as follows:

Ship

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
• Slot 2: CAP Fighter  [8]

Skip Bombers

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  [2]
• Slot 2: Combat Air Patrol  [8]

Dive Bombers

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  [2]
• Slot 2: Combat Air Patrol  [8]

Camouflage

Béarn comes with Type 10 permanent camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, reduces her service cost, and increases the amount of experience she earns.

Signals

As a carrier, Béarn has no risk of detonating.

• Note: Carriers burn at 1% health per a second while all other ships burn at 0.3% a second. So even though Carriers burn for only 5 seconds for each fire, if caught off of DCP, multiple fires can be set over and over again making a carrier lose more health to fires than any surface ship within a short duration.

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

Historical Info

Béarn, 1927-1967

Construction

Builder: Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée

Laid down: 10 January 1914

Launched: 15 April 1920

Commissioned: 5 December 1927

Decommissioned: 31 March 1967

Stricken: 31 March 1967

Fate: sold for scrap

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Specifications

22,146 long tons displacement, 22,501 standard

28,400 long tons full load, 29,900 standard full load

574 ft 2 in (175 m) length at waterline

598 ft 9 in (182.5 m) length overall

88 ft 7 in (27 m) beam at waterline

115 ft 6 in (35.2 m) beam overall

29 ft 1in (8.86 m) draft full load

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Machinery

2 triple-expansion steam engines

1 steam turbines

4 shafts

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Performance

21.5 knots(39.8 km/h, 24.7 mph)

44,384 shaft horsepower

6,600 nm(12,200 km, 7,600 mi) range,

at 12 knots(22 km/h, 14mph)

---

Armor

Main belt: 11 7/8 in (300 mm)

Upper armored deck; 1-3 in (26-80 mm)

Lower armored decks: 1/2-2 3/4 in (14-70mm)

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Armament

(8) × single 155 mm (6.1 in) guns

---

Secondary Armament

(12) × single 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns

---

Anti-Aircraft

(6) × single 75 mm (3 in) AA guns

(8) × single 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns

---

Complement

875 crew size

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Aircraft & Handling

32 Aircraft Normal load

3 aircraft elevators

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Béarn was a French aircraft carrier converted from a Normandie-class battleship during the 1920s. After the Fall of France, she spent 3 years restricted to port in Martinique. When she transferred to the control of the Free French forces, she was converted into an aircraft transport. Following World War II, she served in various roles until being decommissioned in 1960 and sold for scrap in 1967.

Construction

Béarn was laid down on 10 January 1914 at Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM) shipyard in La Seyne as the fifth Normandie-class battleship. The outbreak of the First World War halted her construction for the duration of the war. She was launched to clear the slipway on 15 April 1920. At this point she was little more than an unfinished basic hull with little work done on her engines, armament or structure, and the Marine Nationale had no plans for her.

Later in 1920, a French visit to the British HMS Argus led to a proposal to convert a Normandie-class battleship into an aircraft carrier. Trials were carried out using Béarn’s hull, and a temporary wooden deck and improvised arrester gear were constructed. The first trials were carried out in October using British Sopwith 1½ Strutters. Further trials were conducted the following year with the Hanriot HD.3. At this time she still lacked propulsion equipment and her hull had only been constructed up to the lower armored deck.

The Washington Naval Treaty came into force in 1922, placing restrictions on the number of battleships that a nation could build and operate. The terms of the treaty meant that the Normandie-class battleships would need to be scrapped. The Marine Notionale decided that Béarn would be completed as an aircraft carrier, as her construction was less advanced than her four sister ships and thus conversion would be considerably cheaper.

Career

Pre-WW2

Béarn was commissioned on 5 December 1927. In May 1928 she was assigned to the 1re Escadre de ligne (1st Battleship Squadron) of the 1re Escadre (1st Squadron) in the Mediterranean.

Béarn made a short training cruise to Corsica and French North Africa between 12 October and 9 November to qualify pilots. In December, the carrier began a short refit that angled the forward flight deck downwards as the first step in allowing aircraft to land over her bow. In addition, her improvised arresting gear was replaced by prototype mechanically-operated gear. She continued to take part in training, exercises, and trials for the next few years, but by 1931 she was considered to be in poor condition and in need of reconstruction. She was totally unable to operate with the fleet as her maximum speed was now limited to just 15 knots.

From October 1931, studies were undertaken to investigate the possibility of a major refit for Béarn. However, even with a major rebuild, she would not have been fast enough to operate with the planned Dunkerque-class battleships. The Naval Minister was unwilling to invest a large sum of money in the 20-year-old ship. 25 million Francs were authorized, which would mostly be spent on replacing her boilers. Eventually, Béarn entered her refit in February 1934, emerging in October 1935. After further training cruises, Béarn was redeployed to Brittany where she continued the previous cycle of training cruises and trials.

World War II

Although nominally assigned to the Allied Force L, searching the West Indies for Graf Spee, Béarn remained in Brest. In April 1940 she was sent to Toulon to carry out deck landing training, which lasted until the German invasion of France in May. She was ordered to unload her aircraft and load 145 tons of gold which were needed to pay for armaments in the USA. She arrived in Halifax, Canada on 1 June, where she would load the aircraft before her return to France.

Béarn and her escorts departed Canada on 16 June, but due to the French surrender they were ordered to sail to Martinique. Béarn arrived at Fort-de-France on 27 June and was effectively interned on the island, only leaving once on a brief trip to Guadalupe. There were tentative plans to take some of her surviving cargo to the French possessions in Indochina, but this was vetoed by the German authorities. Another plan to deliver her aircraft to North Africa was blocked by the USA. Her aircraft were unloaded and would eventually succumb to the elements as they were left in open fields. Under pressure from the US government, the ship was immobilized with four of her boilers disabled and most of her fuel offloaded. In May 1943, the Vichy authorities ordered that French ships in the West Indies should be sabotaged and Béarn ended up run aground with her propulsion rooms half flooded.

After Martinique was transferred to the Free French forces, Béarn was refloated in September 1943. Given her age and limitations, Béarn was of limited use as a frontline warship. An expensive rebuild into an escort carrier was also ruled out; instead, Béarn would be converted into an aircraft transport ship. She arrived in New Orleans in December 1943, with the conversion work taking until the following December.

In March 1945, Béarn loaded 84 aircraft at New York and departed for Europe. While en route, she collided with a troop transport and needed to dock in the Azores for emergency repairs. She underwent permanent repair in Casablanca which took until July.

Post World War II

Béarn ferried men and equipment to the Far East as part of the French attempts to rebuild their empire. She spent several months transporting equipment and aircraft between ports in French Indochina, finally returning to France in July 1946. She was placed in reserve until December 1948 when she was assigned as the flagship of Groupe d'Action Anti-Sous-Marine (Anti-Submarine Action Group (GASM)) where she acted as a submarine tender. In October 1960, the ship was relegated to service as a barracks ship, although she retained her torpedo workshop. In 1966, Béarn was condemned and renamed Q 419 on 31 March 1967. The ship was sold for scrap on 4 September and towed to Italy to be broken up. In her 40 years of service, she never launched her aircraft in combat.

Historical Gallery

• 

  Aerial View of Bearn

• 

  Landing trials being conducted on Bearn

References

Ship Change Log

See here for links to Update notes.

• Available for testing by supertesters in the game starting from Update 0.10.8.

Testing Changes

• DevBlog 191:
  • Preliminary characteristics.
• DevBlog 203:
  • Secondary armament firing range increased from 5 to 5.6 km.
• DevBlog 215:
  • Bomber parameters changed:
    • Number of bombs in payload increased from 1 to 2.
    • Maximum AP bomb damage decreased from 6,300 to 3,600.
    • Bomb arming threshold increased from 30 to 36 mm.
    • Bomb fragmentation area of damage to submarines decreased by approximately 50%.
  • Skip-bomber parameters changed:
    • Number of bombs in payload increased from 1 to 2.
    • Maximum bomb damage decreased from 11,000 to 6,100.
    • Bomb armor penetration decreased from 68 to 32 mm.
    • Chance of a bomb causing fire on a target decreased from 63 to 35%.
    • Accuracy of bombs when dropped and after bounces decreased.
    • Attack time decreased from 10 to 6 s.
    • Attack preparation time increased from 4 to 7 s.
• DevBlog 239:
  • Attack preparation time of Skip bombers decreased from 7 to 6 s.
  • Delay between AP bomb drops decreased from 0.4 to 0.3 s.

• Update 0.10.10:
  • Fixed models and textures.
  • Fixed incorrect display of camouflage on the deck lift.
  • Fixed a bug due to which the air groups on the deck were placed in the wrong order.
  • First went on sale in December 2021.
• Update 0.11.8:
  • Skip bombers:
    • HE bomb damage reduced from 6,100 to 5,800.
    • Chances of causing a fire on target reduced from 35% to 33%.
• Update 12.11:
  • Patrol Fighters consumable parameters were changed:
    • Air visibility radius increased from 2 to 4.5 km.
• Update 13.1:
  • Increased the dispersion of the Skip Bombers by 20%.
• Update 13.3:
  • Updated the Patrol Fighter UI icon and description for the ship.
• Update 13.4:
  • Fixed the Patrol Fighters icon and description for the ship.

Ships of France

Aircraft Carriers