World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseJean Bart was not yet completed when she was moved to Casablanca in Jun 1940 due to the German invasion, at this time she only had one operational turret (out of the planned two turrets; both were to be to the bow, which was unlike her contemporaries), which contained four 380-millimeter guns with two separate shell loading systems. The first time her steam engines fired up was when she was forced to sail to Casablanca in French Morocco in Jun 1940 in order to escape German capture. Meanwhile, a cargo ship carried her second and still incomplete turret, intending to install at a later date; the cargo ship was sunk by a German submarine while en route. As stationary shore battery at Casablanca, she was used by the French to fight against the American invasion on 8 Nov 1942 during Operation Torch. In the naval engagement, she was hit by a total of five aerial bombs and battleship shells from USS Massachusetts; one of the Massachusetts shells, though failing to detonate, jammed her turret in the train, thus effectively putting the French ship out of action. French repairmen raced around the clock to bring the turrets back to operational status, surprising the Americans on 10 Nov when USS Augusta and other ships sailed too close during an attack on small French ships Commandant Delage, La Servannaise, and La Gracieuse. In response, carrier USS Ranger dispatched dive bombers against Jean Bart, hitting with two 500-pound bombs and sank Jean Bart in shallow water. As the French forces in North Africa surrendered to the Allies, Jean Bart also joined Allied efforts.

ww2dbaseAlthough there were discussions of towing Jean Bart to the United States to complete her construction, no action was ever taken. She sat in Casablanca harbor for the remainder of the war.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, Jean Bart returned to France in 1945. French public opinion called for the Jean Bart to be completed, which was done in 1949. In 1956, she participated in the Suez Canal Crisis off Egypt in 1956 but saw no combat. She was put into reserve in 1957, followed by decommissioning in 1961. She was sold in 1969 and scrapped in the following year.

Battleship Jean Bart Interactive Map

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Jean Bart Operational Timeline

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