French battleship Jean Bart (1940)
 The Jean Bart, photographed from a plane of the USS Ranger. Turret number 2 is not yet operational
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| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Namesake | Jean Bart |
| Laid down | December 1936 |
| Launched | 6 March 1940 |
| Commissioned | 1949 |
| Decommissioned | 1961 |
| Fate | scrapped in 1969 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Richelieu class battleship |
| Displacement | 35,560 tonnes 48,950 t at full load |
| Length | 248 m |
| Beam | 35 m |
| Draught | 9.60 m |
| Propulsion | four Parsons geared turbines, 150,000 hp (112 MW) |
| Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range | 7671 nautical miles (14,207 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h); 3181 nautical miles (5,891 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Complement | list error: <br /> list (help) 911 men in 1950 (incomplete) 1,280 men during the Suez affair |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help)
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| Armour | list error: <br /> list (help)
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- For the first battleship with this name, see French battleship Jean Bart (1911).
Jean Bart was a French battleship of World War II named for the seventeenth century seaman and corsair Jean Bart.
Derived from the Dunkerque class, Jean Bart (and her sistership Richelieu) were designed to counter the threat of the Italian Navy. Their speed, shielding, armament and overall technology were state of the art but they had an unusual main armament arrangement with two 4-gun turrets to the front and none to the rear.
Jean Bart was laid down in December 1936 and launched on 6 March 1940. Barely 75% completed, her engine having never worked before, she sailed to Casablanca in June 1940 to escape the advance of the German army in France. Only one of her two 380 millimetres (15 in) main turrets was present. The second one, with only two of the intended four guns, was loaded on a cargo ship which was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. The 152 millimetres (6.0 in) battery was also missing, and was replaced by anti-aircraft armament. Like other French assets in North Africa, Jean Bart went under control of the Vichy government.
On 8 November 1942, during Operation Torch, the French fleet in Casablanca was attacked by American warships and airplanes from USS Ranger. Jean Bart managed to battle USS Massachusetts, taking hits from several bombs and 16 in (406 mm) shells. On the 10th, Jean Bart opened fire again onto USS Augusta, much to the surprise of the American staff who thought she had been silenced. This drew action from Ranger, and Jean Bart took two 500 kg bombs, which opened a leak, making her run aground. Combat was over in the evening, and along with the rest of French forces in North Africa, she sided with the Allies.
Subsequently, it was suggested that Jean Bart be completed in the USA (her sistership, Richelieu, had undertaken refitting there), but this proved impossible. Projects to convert her into an aircraft carrier were studied but rejected. For the next two years the unfinished ship remained stranded in Casablanca.
She returned to France in 1945, and was eventually completed in 1949, under a brand new design influenced by lessons from the previous conflict. Jean Bart took her part in the Suez Crisis. Put into the reserve in 1957, she was decommissioned in 1961, and scrapped in 1969.
Pictures
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Battleship "Jean Bart" in 1968 in the Harbour of Toulon
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Battleship "Jean Bart" in 1968
External links
- Caractéristiques principales (in French) Schematics of a turret
- Galerie de photos (in French) Photographs
- Maritimequest Jean Bart Photo Gallery
| Richelieu class battleship |
| Richelieu | Jean Bart | Clemenceau | Gascogne |
List of battleships of France |