Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

FS Jean Bart

1949 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

The Story of FS Jean Bart

FS Jean Bart formed the second of a two-man class of battleships known as the Richelieu class. Thus, the group was commanded by Richelieu himself, who became a veteran of World War II (1939-1945) battles. Laid before WWII and launched in the early stages of hostilities, Jean Bart remains unfinished during the decisive French campaign in 1940.

It only came into service after the war in 1949 and continued until 1970.

FS Jean Bart Named after French naval officer and privateer Jean Bart (1650-1702), a veteran of the Nine Years' War and the Battle of the Dogger Bank (1696).

The birth of Jean Bart was the French Navy's response to the new Italian warships threatening France in the Mediterranean. This led to investment in the Richelieu class, which more or less evolved from the existing two-person Dunkirk class that emerged in the early 1930s.

Like these earlier ships, the Richelieu class carried a unique main battery consisting of 8 x 330mm guns mounted as four guns on two turrets - these turrets were all forward facing, not Front-to-rear balance. The new class was approved by the French government in 1935 as a 35,000-ton ship, and Jean Bart saw her keel laid in December 1936.

In addition to their unique primary weapons, these two new ships are larger, heavier, and better equipped in size than their predecessors. The smoke funnel has a distinctive rearward sloping shape and is located aft. As the two main towers were well distributed ahead of the forecastle, the bridge superstructure was set at some distance aft and was found to be closer to midship than normal. The group also brought the two main masts closer together.

Propulsion machinery includes six Indret Sural boilers, powering 4 x Parsons turbines and producing 150,000 hp while driving 2 x axles. Performance includes a speed of 32 knots and a range of up to 7,670 nautical miles.

The ship was designed to operate in the Mediterranean (directly against the presence of the Italian fleet) and had a modest range, but this proved acceptable given the distance the ship had to travel in the Mediterranean.

Dimensions are 248m long, 35m wide and 9.5m draught. Displacement is 35,000 tons under standard load and up to 49,000 tons under full load. The typical crew number was 911, although this number increased to 1,280 during the war.

The length of the armor belt is 330 mm, the upper deck is 170 mm and the lower deck is 40 mm. The heavier armor is an important aspect of the new design compared to the lighter Dunkirk class.

In addition to her 8 x 380 mm (14.96 in) main gun, Jean Bart carried 9 x 152 mm (6 in) anti-aircraft (AA) guns as three three-gun turrets. The 90mm and 37mm guns were used for close-in anti-aircraft, as were the 4 x 13.2mm machine guns.

With the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, France and Great Britain entered the war as allies. Jean Bart was officially launched on March 6, 1940, and things took a turn for the worse in May 1940, when France itself was attacked and Jean Bart was left unfinished.

The French surrender took place in June, and Richelieu and her sister fell under the control of French Vichy rule. Jean Bart sails from Saint-Nazaire to Casablanca - still unfinished.

After arriving in Casablanca, some of their anti-aircraft guns were used to reinforce Casablanca's air defense network. In 1941, she was finally equipped with guns and navigation equipment, and in April 1942 she was equipped with a 4 x 37mm gun according to her design.

Additional weapon support is coming in June. The radar feature was finally added in October, and more guns were added in November.

"Operation Torch" began with the Allied landings in North Africa and took place in the Netherlands from 8 to 16 November 1942. During this period, Jean Bart was under the control of the French Vichy army, which meant that her weapons were used against French brothers and allies, although only one of her massive turrets actually worked.

The dive bombers of the USS Ranger responded, and the guns of the USS Massachusetts were also trained on the French warship, rendering Jean Bart's only main turret ineffective.

After a quick repair during the landing, Jean Bart's guns were brought back into service, and the USS Ranger's dive bombers again called to attack ships. This attack did more damage to the battleshipenough to sink her into shallow water, but still knock her out.

The battleship was eventually taken over by the Allies as the Allies took control of the bridgehead and pushed inland. Her main battery was removed and reused at Richelieu to replace her old accessories.

It was originally intended to transfer the ship to an experienced US shipyard for completion, which included adding armament and providing additional support for limited aircraft launches. However, this move failed and the ship spent the war in Casablanca.

It was not completed until after the cessation of hostilities in 1945.

Initially the authorities decided to scrap the ship rather than fund the completion. Then there was an urge to finish her as a converted aircraft carrier, but in the end it became a matter of cost and materials - the ship would be finished as planned, a battleship.

The war also made the aircraft carrier the undisputed king of the sea, rivaling the need for steel battleships of a bygone era.

In August 1945, Jean Bart sailed from Casablanca to the west coast of France to begin work. One of their most notable changes was the aircraft protection scheme, as the original 40mm Bofors and 20mm Oerlikon guns were replaced by 24x100mm and 28x57mm guns. Finally ready, she officially joined the French Navy on 16 January 1949 and began her sailing career on 1 May 1955.

Her first voyage was a friendly tour to various friendly countries. Its first real action was during the "Suez Crisis" of 1956, when it was used to support a coalition of French, British and Israeli forces against Egypt.

Jean Bart was thereafter placed in reserve status from 1 August 1957, although she served for a time as a gunnery training platform. Efforts to turn her into a more useful platform failed, and she was decommissioned in 1968 and sold as scrap in 1970, ending her relatively short career at sea.