Richelieu - class battleship The " Richelieu " - class battleships were the last and largest battleships of the French Navy , staying in service into the 1960s . They still remain to this day the largest warships ever built by France . Designed in the 1930s to counter the threat of the Italian s , the " Richelieu " class were essentially scaled - up versions of the preceding , featuring a main battery of eight guns in two quadruple turrets in forward superfiring positions . Four " Richelieu " - class ships , of three different subclasses , were designed over the course of three naval construction programs , in 1935 , 1936 , and 1938 ; only three were laid down . Only the first two units , the and the , were ever completed . They saw service during World War II , first under Vichy control in Dakar ( 1940 ) and Casablanca ( 1942 ) , then under the Allies ' control , the " Richelieu " participating in British Home Fleet and Eastern Fleet operations and supporting the French forces ' return to Indochina in late 1945 . The " Jean Bart " was not completed until the 1950s , and took part in the operations off Port Said ( Egypt ) during the Suez Crisis in 1956 . The " Richelieu " was scrapped in 1968 and the " Jean Bart " in 1970 . Background . Washington Naval Treaty : Consequences . In 1922 , the Washington Naval Conference , concluded by the Washington Naval Treaty , decided to stop for ten years any new battleship building , as a new naval armaments race was developing between the United States of America , the United Kingdom , and Japan . The Treaty fixed limits for new battleships of standard displacement , and for the main battery ' s artillery caliber . France and Italy each were also allowed ( after 1927 ) to replace two of their old battleships . Germany was not subject to the Washington Treaty limitations , but instead to the more stringent Treaty of Versailles restrictions . It was forbidden to build any warship with a displacement greater than . But the practicality of building battleships seemed very questionable as , during World War I , no decisive victory had resulted from a cataclysmic clash between battleships , unlike the Japanese victory of Tsushima more than 17 years earlier . However , the war experience had clearly shown the problem of ensuring the safety of maritime commercial routes against commerce raiders , for which cruiser s appeared better suited than battleships ; thus , by the late 1920s all the countries which had signed the Washington Treaty undertook the building of new heavy cruiser classes . For France , the priority was the safety of the waterborne connections between France and her African colonies / protectorates ( via the Marseille - Algiers and Bordeaux - Casablanca - Dakar routes ) . Thus , in the late 1920s , the most powerful battleships had been designed before the Washington Treaty , and were armed with four double turrets of or caliber guns . The s , built between 1922 – 1927 with three triple 16 - inch turrets forward , were based on the 1921 G3 battlecruiser concept . The top speed was , for most battleships , ; the s had top speeds ; and a few in Western waters , the fast battleship s or battlecruiser s , had top speeds exceeding . But neither France nor Italy were intending to build battleships similar to the most recent American , British , or Japanese battleships : very heavily armed and armored . They only wished to modernize their aging battleships , refurbishing the propulsion machinery and upgrading the main artillery ; the Treaty of Washington authorized them to undertake much more radical modernizations than the other treaty powers . In the same way , both powers reserved the right to employ their replacement capital ship tonnage allocation ( ) as they saw fit , subject to Treaty limits : not only were two battleships of possible , but also three of or four of . French battleship projects : 1926 – 1929 . The Treaty of Washington was resented as humiliating : it only allowed France the same global battleship tonnage ( ) as Italy , one - third that of the United States and the United Kingdom , and 5 / 9th of Japan ' s . However , battleships were not the core of the " Statut Naval " French warship building program , adopted by the French Parliament in 1924 . Its aim was to enable the French Navy to counter the navies of both Italy and Germany . From 1924 to 1932 , the annual " Tranche Navale " ( literally , a " slice " of the " Statut Naval " ) included only cruisers , destroyer s , torpedo - boat s , and submarine s . The French Admiralty , under Vice Admiral Salaün , discussed in 1926 – 1927 ships designed as cruiser killers ; these would be able to outgun and outrun the Italian heavy cruisers , which were considered the main threat against the waterborne connections between France and North Africa . The first Italian heavy cruiser unit built , the , had been laid down in 1925 and launched in 1926 . The French designers considered a displacement of which would have allowed them to build four units under the maximum limit of ( from the Treaty of Washington ) for the authorized French replacements . An artillery arrangement of two 55 - calibre quadruple turrets forward was examined , combining the choice of quadruple turrets made by the French designers of the prewar and the all forward arrangement of the " Nelson " - class battleships . The top speed would have been , the armor able to resist shells . Ultimately , however , it was concluded that such warships would not have been able to fight in the line of battle against the old Italian battleships . In 1927 , studies were undertaken of battlecruisers . This trial displacement would have been the equivalent of a standard Washington - Treaty displacement of , near the maximum limit for battleship displacement fixed by the Treaty of Washington . However , it was clear that the building of battleships would surpass the French Navy ' s technical and financial capacities at the time : the building costs of the required infrastructure for hulls of about length , allowing them to reach a speed of , would have been enough to buy two more battleships , and would have jeopardized the building program for the other categorizes of warships ( cruisers , destroyers , and submarines ) . Moreover , at the same time , discussions at the Disarmament Subcommittee of the League of Nations had begun in Geneva , about the pursuit of naval armaments limitation policy . The United Kingdom was trying to obtain more drastic limitations than the Washington Treaty ' s , with a battleship maximum displacement of and a battleship maximum caliber of , and the French government did not wanted to jeopardize the negotiations . Responding to the German pocket battleships . The - tonne battleship . In February 1929 , everything changed when the German Reichsmarine laid down the keel of the first , an armored ship ( in German , " Panzerschiff " ) . They claimed it displaced , following the Treaty of Versailles restrictions ; it was actually at least 25 % bigger , but this was not known at the time . With two triple turrets and a top speed of , this ship outgunned every so - called heavy cruiser with their guns intended to respect the Washington Treaty limitations concerning the caliber of cruiser main artillery and outran every battleship except the three fastest British units ( the HMS " Hood " , , and ) . The " Deutschland " s type was commonly designated as a pocket battleship , being actually – as her German denomination well - indicated – an armored cruiser . The French Admiralty ' s reaction was to prepare a draft design for a ship which would outclass the German " pocket battleship " in armament , armor , and speed . It appeared that the previous French proposals ' armament might be retained and that the speed might be no more than , but the most important feature was that the armor had to be thicker to resist shells . These considerations lead to a planned displacement of about , which fit the maximum displacement that the United Kingdom proposed in the naval armament limitations negotiations . The 1930 London Naval Treaty established that the ten - year battleship - building holiday agreed at Washington would be extended for a further five years , until 31 December 1936 . France and Italy were , however , authorized to build the replacement tonnage that the Washington Naval Treaty entitled them to lay down . Nevertheless , France and Italy refused to adhere to any qualitative limitations , which were mainly concerning the maximum displacement of cruisers . , as France argued that construction had just started in Germany of the armor - clad " Deutschland " , and following the new limits ' rejection by France , Italy was no longer prepared to accept new restrictions concerning battleships . In order to establish a ceiling for new naval construction , bilateral talks took place between France and Italy , with significant encouragement from the United Kingdom ; these talks began at the start of 1931 , and a basis of agreement was concluded on 1 March 1931 . Until 1936 , both countries would be allowed to build only two battleships , each of . But it was not possible to go further , as the Italian Navy was not satisfied with the battleship Italian project , with three twin turrets and a profile reminiscent of the heavy cruiser ( then in construction ) . A complete artillery and power plant refit of the s would begin in 1933 , and plans for a Standard displacement battleship would be going on . " Dunkerque " . In 1931 , the French Admiralty explicitly confirmed the choice of a battleship , since the battleship would have been too lightly armored and the battleship would have required technical and financial capacities that outstripped France ' s capabilities . This battleship would have had a length of and a beam , two quad / 55 turrets forward , three quad Dual Purpose ( DP ) turrets aft , a top speed , belt armor , and deck armor . However , when in May 1931 this proposal was submitted to the Parliament , the discussion lasted two months and there was much criticism , since it was difficult to understand why it was necessary to have twice the displacement of the warship to be countered and why it was not preferable to build a battleship . Thus , in the 1931 Estimates in July , funds were allocated only for further studies ; in addition , the law had the stipulation that the final characteristics must be subject to a thorough review , the results of which would have to be submitted to the Parliament before passing any building orders . At this point , Vice Admiral Durand - Viel , the new Chief of Staff of the French Navy from January 1931 , requested further studies for upgrading the main artillery caliber – from to – to outgun the Italian battleships . This upgrade resulted in a displacement increase to , a length increase , a beam increase , a slight maximum speed reduction to , the substitution of / 52 guns for / 55 ones , two more double DP turrets , and a slight thickness increase in the armored belt and deck armor . In early 1932 , the project was approved by the Parliament committees , and the Minister of Defence ( François Pietri ) successfully included it in the 1932 Estimates . So emerged the , which was ordered on 26 October 1932 and laid down on 24 December 1932 . After the " Deutschland " , the was laid down in June 1931 and the was laid down in October 1932 . Consequently , the French Navy asked to quickly have a second ; she was included in the 1934 Estimates . Facing the " Scharnhorst " and " Littorio " . Originally , the " Deutschland " class was intended to have six ships . On 14 February 1934 , two more German battleships were ordered ; officially these were the fourth and fifth " Deutschland " - class units , as the Third Reich had not yet denounced the Treaty of Versailles . However , for several years there were discussions about their definitive characteristics , as the " Dunkerque " s starting construction resulted in an upgraded pocket battleship design . Finally , the new ships emerged as the only other class – the – of small battleship ( together with the " Dunkerque " class ) ; these were to be faster than the 1920s battleships , with a displacement substantially under the Treaty of Washington limits . Heavier than the " Dunkerque " - class battleships with the hull dimensions of the ( projected in 1915 ) , they were strongly armored with a belt and deck armor equivalent to the later and battleship classes . However , they were only armed with nine guns , the same caliber as the " Deutschland " class . A heavier caliber had been considered for the main artillery , and was preferred by Adolf Hitler , since the " Dunkerque " - class battleships were armed with guns . But when these ships ' final design was about to be settled , Germany was negotiating the 1935 Anglo - German Naval Agreement , and the British Government was pressing very strongly for limits on the battleship main artillery caliber . Therefore , an improved gun ( 28 cm SK C / 34 ) , with a longer barrel and higher muzzle velocity but the same caliber , was reluctantly chosen . The was laid down on 6 May 1935 and the on 15 June 1935 . Since the French Navy ship designers thought that the " Dunkerque " - class battleships ' armor was able to resist caliber shells , they would not have needed to design a heavier battleship class . But Italy believed the new French battleships broke the balance between the French and Italian battleship fleets in the Mediterranean Sea . Italy thus designed new battleships , which were intended to counter not only the " Dunkerque " - class battleships but also the more heavily armed British Mediterranean Fleet battleships . Duce Benito Mussolini announced on 26 May 1934 the decision of Italy to fully use the right to build battleships granted in the naval limitation treaties . Some days later , the Stefani news agency announced the laying down of two battleships , armed with nine guns ; in October 1935 these received the names of and . The time had come to build the first French battleship . But time was missing to create a design for a truly new heavier battleship class . The French Navy Board ( the " Conseil Supérieur de la Marine " , the French equivalent to the British Board of Admiralty ) unanimously recommended on 25 June 1934 to leave the 1934 naval building plan unchanged , and to order the building of a new " Dunkerque " - class battleship with improved vertical ( belt ) armor : the ' s laying down was ordered on July 16 , 1934 . Eight days later ( on 24 July 1934 ) , the French Navy Board set the new French battleships ' specifications as follows : Thirteen months later , the " Service Technique des Constructions navales " ( S . T . C . N . ) – the French equivalent of the Department of the Director of Naval Construction in the Royal Navy – established a definitive project which was submitted to the Minister on 14 August 1935 and adopted on 31 August , and the " Richelieu " was laid down on 22 October 1935 . By this , France was breaking the Washington Treaty and the 1930 London Treaty , since of new battleships ( instead of ) had been ordered since 1922 and before 31 December 1936 . However , on 18 June 1935 the Anglo - German Naval Agreement had been signed between the United Kingdom – without consulting France – and the Third Reich , canceling " de facto " the Treaty of Versailles limitations concerning the displacements of the various types of warships and allowing Germany to build a war navy within the limit of 35 % of the Royal Navy ' s total tonnage . Having lost the hope of being able to counter both the German and Italian navies , as was allowed by the Versailles and Washington Treaties , France concluded that the " Dunkerque " - class battleships were the answer to the " Scharnhorst " - class battleships and the " Richelieu " - class battleships the answer to the s . Germany went a step further , laying down two new battleships , the " Bismarck " in November 1935 and the in June 1936 . These ships , strongly armored as their protection absorbed more than 40 % of their standard displacement , with a very large beam of , got a very classic design , eight guns in double turrets ( two forward and two aft ) and the secondary anti - ship artillery as six double turrets on the sides . Their powerful anti - aircraft artillery in sixteen guns in eight double turrets , plus numerous and mountings , controlled by six high - angle directors was unmatched anywhere ; officially declared as , their displacement was actually more than standard and even nearing full load . The French answer was the laying down of the second " Richelieu " - class battleship , the , in December 1936 . Design . The " Richelieu " class had a planned standard displacement of tons , equal to the Washington Treaty limit , with a main armament of eight guns in two quadruple turrets . Three ships in two subclasses were laid down , all of these had the main turrets in forward superfiring positions , while a fourth unit was planned with one turret forward and the other aft . There were also differences between subclasses in the secondary artillery and the aircraft installations planned to be fitted , as well as minor differences between the " Richelieu " and the " Jean Bart " resulting from the latter ship ' s completion , ten years after the former one ' s . " Richelieu " and " Jean Bart " . Vice Admiral Durand - Viel , the Chief of the Navy ' s General Staff , was very concerned about continuity between the " Richelieu " battleship class and the preceding " Dunkerque " battleship class ( whose lead ship had been ordered only two years before ) , in order to reduce to a minimum planning and construction delays and to create homogeneous combat groups . It was therefore envisaged a similar main and secondary artillery disposition . Armament . Main artillery . The French Navy Board had indicated in July 1934 a minimum caliber of – dictated by the Italian Navy ' s choice – and a maximum caliber of – the Washington Treaty limit . For the number of guns , eight was the minimum for efficiently spotting salvos ; this was one reason the Italian Navy had not been satisfied by the battleship project of 1931 , which had only six guns . The maximum of nine guns corresponded to a battery of three triple turrets , as announced by the Stefani News agency for the new Italian battleships . An arrangement of two quadruple turrets would save more than a quarter of the turret armor weight ( as compared to four double turrets ) , while retaining the same firepower , but it was quickly determined that the caliber was the largest feasible for a quadruple turret . With a beam and guns , the " Nelson " - class battleships had accommodated only triple turrets . But on the " Dunkerque " , with a 31 . 10 m ( 102 . 25 ft ) beam and guns , the four barrels of each turret were not mounted independently ( in separate cradles ) because this would have meant an unduly large barbette diameter . For this reason the right and left pairs of barrels were placed in a single common mount each . However , the fore and aft main quadruple turrets of the British " King George V " - class battleships will have independent mounting , as these ships will have nearly the same beam , versus 102 . 25 ft ( 31 . 10 m ) , and more for the main guns caliber , versus , than on the " Dunkerque " . The quadruple turret ' s major drawback was the risk of taking a single unlucky shot which would destroy one turret and cripple half the main battery ; to help prevent this , the " Dunkerque " - class battleships ' quadruple turrets had been divided internally , with a bulkhead to localize damage . This method has been effective at Mers - el - Kebir , when the first British shell striking the " Dunkerque " ultimately hit the second turret ; this killed all crew in the turret ' s right half , but the left half remained operational . But the all - forward arrangement of two quadruple turrets , and more broadly the proximity between the two main artillery magazines ( one for each turret ) , induced the greatest risk : one hit could potentially cripple the entire main battery , or even cause the ship ' s loss from an ammunition explosion . On the " Dunkerque " , to avoid this risk the forward turrets had been positioned apart from one another , further apart than on the " Nelson " - class battleships . Even so , the French Navy studied various other solutions , with three turrets ( one quadruple and two double , two triple and one double , or three triple ) . In every case , with three turrets there would have been a weight excess in comparison with two quadruple turrets , and in consequence a propulsion plant power reduced to and a speed loss of , for a small benefit of distributing the main armament over a greater length . Therefore , following the proposal of STCN ' s head , the Chief of Navy General Staff chose as early as November 1934 the all - forward arrangement with two quadruple turrets . The solutions used on " Dunkerque " - class battleships were retained on the " Richelieu " , in a scaled up version : an all - forward arrangement , in two 1936 - model quadruple turrets built by Saint - Chamond , weighing together with the barbette . It weighed nearly more than the roughly quadruple turrets of the " Dunkerque " or the triple turrets of the " Littorio " . Each " Richelieu " turret was divided in two half turrets , by a to bulkhead . The guns , in the half turrets , were in pairs , and although each gun was in a separate cradle , the relative movement of the guns of each pair was limited . The guns were so close ( , only more than on the " Dunkerque " ) that a wake effect between shells fired simultaneously by a half turret lead to an excessive dispersal , which was not corrected before 1948 on the " Richelieu " . The turrets were positioned apart from one another , more than on the " Dunkerque " . The weight of one barrel was . This weight was : less than the barrel on the " Yamato " , or the barrel on the " Nelson " ; nearly the same weight as the barrel on the " Nagato " , the barrel on the " Bismarck " , the barrel on the " Iowa " , the barrel on " Littorio " , or the " Queen Elizabeth " barrel ; and more than the " King George V " barrel . The maximum angle of elevation of guns on the Model 1936 turret was 35° . With a muzzle velocity , the maximum range was theoretically , practically . The rate of fire was from 1 . 3 rounds per minute to 2 rpm . The maximum horizontal turning speed was 5° / s , and the maximum elevating speed 5 . 5° / s . The shell was an Armor Piercing Capped ( APC ) shell , registered in the French Navy as " Obus de Perforation " ( " OPf " ) . The OPf Model 1935 was a further development of the OPf Model 1935 , in use on the " Dunkerque " , except that its molded base formed a boat tail that assisted in keeping the shell stable in flight . The shell was long and weighed , less than the shell ( ) , that glancingly hit the " Jean Bart " at the battle of Casablanca ( 1942 ) , and some kilos more than the weight of the shells of or ( ) , that lightly damaged the " Richelieu " at the battle of Dakar ( 1940 ) . The OPfK Model 1935 incorporated a dye bag and fuze ( " dispositif K " ) to color not only misses but hits , thereby facilitating spotting for ships operating in formation while in combat . No High Explosive ( HE ) variant of the shell was originally provided . A total of 832 APC shells were intended to be provided , slightly fewer than for the " Dunkerque " - class battleships ( 896 rounds ) . Remote Power Control ( RPC ) was to be fitted for both horizontal turning and elevation ; however , the failure of the Sautter - Harlé - Blondel system fitted on the " Dunkerque " - class battleships resulted in a loss of confidence in the application of this technology to heavy armored turrets , and it was never fitted . Secondary artillery . The French Navy had been first to fit a dual - purpose ( DP ) battery on a battleship , in the early 1930s ; seven years later , with the shortcomings seen with the and DP turrets and twin automatic AA mountings , the solution of having a low - angle secondary battery and a high - angle tertiary battery was a feature of the new battleships in construction , as in the Italian and German navies . For the secondary artillery , all early projects kept the caliber , in five quadruple Dual - Purpose turrets , at the same position as on the " Dunkerque " - class battleships , but with quadruple turrets amidships , instead of double turrets . A tertiary anti - aircraft " zénithaux " battery was considered , to complement the early design sketch ' s DP battery . Since at the time torpedo surface attacks were considered more damaging than aircraft bombing , a heavier caliber was required for the anti - ship battery . Since the " Nelson " - class battleships , the Royal Navy had adopted a six double turrets battery as the secondary artillery on battleships . The Kriegsmarine had chosen guns on the , and the Italian Navy was fitting the battleships with caliber guns . It was decided to use triple turrets , as fitted on the most recent light cruisers , the and the s that were then being built . The S . T . C . N . proposed three solutions : five turrets and six single mountings ; or four turrets , without the fifth turret ( central axial ) ; or with two center line aft turrets in a superfiring position , and eight single mountings , but it was difficult to install this AA battery while keeping it out of the blast effects of the main and secondary batteries . The French Naval Board in April 1935 resolved to fit the " Richelieu " with five turrets in the same placement as for the battery on the " Dunkerque " . It was decided that these turrets had to be dual - purpose , and that the tertiary AA battery had to be abandoned , as the substitution of DP turrets , weighing to the turrets , weighing , was inducing an weight excess of about . It was also decided to install a new weight - saving propulsion plant , generating the same power of , but using more compact Sural boilers , than those fitted on the " Dunkerque " . It was therefore possible to reduce the number of boiler rooms from three to two , which allowed a reduction of the armored belt ' s length of nearly , and consequently of its weight . As another weight - reduction measure , the armored belt ' s thickness was reduced from planned to and its inclination increased from 11°30 ' to 15°24 ' to compensate for the thickness reduction . The armor thicknesses of the longitudinal bulkheads , conning tower , and turrets and barbettes of the guns were also reduced . The triple Model 1936 Dual Purpose turret was a further development of the Model 1930 Low - Angle turret . The guns , mounted on separate cradles , were apart . The horizontal turning speed was 12° / second , and the elevation speed was 8° / s . The guns ' maximum elevation was 90° , with loading at every elevation theoretically possible . The muzzle velocity was . The shells to be used against sea targets were Semi Armored Piercing ( SAP ) shells with a dye bag , registered in the French Navy as OPfK Model 1931 , weighing , or for the OPfK Model 1937 . Against aircraft , the / 55 Model 1930 guns would be firing High Explosive ( HE ) shells , registered as OEA ( Obus Explosif en Acier " ) Model 1936 and weighing , or for the OEA Model 1937 . Starshells , registered as OEcl ( Obus Eclairant " ) Model 1936 and weighing , were to be provided for the amidships turrets . The rate of fire was 6 . 5 rounds per minute , against sea targets , and 5 rpm against aircraft . The maximum range against sea targets , with a 45° elevation , was . Full RPC was fitted . On the " Richelieu " , the planned ammunition load was 2000 SAP shells , nearly 1000 HE shells , and 650 illuminating shells , for the three triple turrets fitted . The Model 1930 Low - Angle turret proved to be highly satisfactory , at least comparable to the German single or twin gun turrets , or the Italian triple turrets Model 1934 or 1936 . But for anti - aircraft purposes , the Model 1936 turret was thought to be complex and fragile , with a too - slow rate of fire against rapid - moving aerial targets , with a deficient RPC , and with jamming in loading at angles greater than 45° . These problems were probably due to the too - great weight , without the barbette , of the DP Model 1936 turret ; this was nearly heavier than the Model 1931 . During WWII , there were no other guns used as an anti - aircraft battery ; however , they were successfully used post - war in two U . S . Navy cruisers and three s of the Royal Navy , albeit with much better RPC and fire - control devices than the pre - WWII French ones . At the war ' s very beginning ( in November 1939 ) , it became evident that the projected ACAD Model 1935 ( automatic anti - aircraft twin ) mountings would not be provided in time for the " Richelieu " s completion ; thus , a drastic revision of the AA battery was needed . The midship turrets had to be canceled , and twelve / 45 Model 1930 guns in six twin mountings , CAD Model 1931 , would instead be fitted , as they had been on the last Treaty cruiser ( the ) . To respect the priority of completing the " Richelieu " first , four mountings had to be removed from the reconstructed battleship , and two from a battery near Marseilles . The amidships turrets were not even mounted on the " Jean Bart " ; nor were barbettes installed . The mountings were fitted on " Richelieu " in April – May 1940 . The CAD Model 1930 turrets were dual - purpose . SAP shells ( OPf Model 1928 , weighing ) would be used for sea targets , with a muzzle velocity of and a maximum range , but only 10 rounds per gun were intended , due to the belief that the anti - ship fire would be mainly done by the stronger guns . HE shells ( OEA Model 1928 , weighing ) would be used on aerial targets , with a muzzle velocity of and a ceiling ( at the 80° maximum elevation ) . The rate of fire was 10rpm . Illuminating shells ( OEcl Model 1928 ) were provided to replace the OEcl Model 1936 . The guns proved to be the only reliable arms of the " Richelieu " until 1942 , due to the uncompleted or obsolescent fire control of the 380 mm and 152 mm batteries . Anti - aircraft light artillery . For short range anti - aircraft defense , the French Navy had planned to develop for the " Dunkerque " - class battleships an automatic version ( ACAD Model 1935 ) of the semi - automatic anti - aircraft with twin mountings ( CAD Model 1933 ) ; the latter had a theoretical firing rate of 30 to 40 rpm . Hand loaded using a six - round box magazine , the actual firing rate was 15 to 20 rpm ; in the same time period , the British Pom Pom gun and the Swedish designed Bofors 40 mm / L60 gun had a 120 to 200 rpm firing rate . Therefore , the ACAD Model 1935 was expected to have a firing rate of 120 rpm or above . However , in 1940 only a prototype ACAD mounting ( designated Model 1936 ) was tested ( aboard the old patrol sloop " Amiens " ; it was apparently successfully used during the Dunkirk evacuation ) . Six ACAD Model 1935 mountings would have been fitted , four abeam the after funnel superstructure , and two abeam turret II . Four fire control system s , equipped with a rangefinder and linked to the mountings by a RPC system driven by Sautter - Hallé electric servomotor s , were intended to be installed : two for the forward mountings , abaft turret II , one deck higher , and two for the after mountings , abeam the mountings , one deck higher . This battery would have been complemented by six or eight Hotchkiss quadruple MG mountings ( CAQ Model 1929 ) on the upper platforms of the forward and after towers . Fire control systems . The most conspicuous difference in the " Richelieu " and " Dunkerque " profiles was the mounting of the fire control director system aft , not on a separate tower located behind the funnel , but on a kind of mack , so that the funnel opening came out obliquely aft underneath the control tower . Otherwise , the fire control system was very similar to the " Dunkerque " s . All the fire control systems were airtight and fitted with light steel plating against the machine gun attacks of strafing aircraft . Three fire control systems were mounted one over the other atop the fore tower . The lowest was the A system , for the main artillery , with a triple stereoscopic OPL ( " Optique de Précision de Levallois - Perret " ) rangefinder . For the artillery , there were two fire control systems . System 1 , in the upper position , was for anti - aircraft gunnery and had a double stereoscopic OPL rangefinder . System 2 , in the central position , was for anti - ship gunnery and had a double stereoscopic OPL rangefinder . The same noteworthy weight accumulation in the fore tower top as on the " Dunkerque " proved to be a problem when the " Richelieu " was torpedoed at Dakar , as a whiplash effect on the main mast around which they were mounted provoked more serious effects on the fore tower systems than on those on the after tower , despite that the latter was nearer the torpedo explosion . On the after tower , there was only the auxiliary system for the artillery ( system 3 ) with a double stereoscopic OPL rangefinder . The auxiliary ( B ) system for the main artillery was between the funnel and the axial aft turret and had an double stereoscopic OPL rangefinder . Each main artillery turret was fitted with a double stereoscopic OPL rangefinder , and each turret with a double stereoscopic OPL range finder . Two systems with OPL rangefinders provided for the flag staff were installed on the wings of the admiral ’ s bridge . When the AA battery was fitted , they were replaced by systems fitted with OPL rangefinders for this battery ' s fire control . Two systems also fitted with rangefinders were then mounted on the navigation bridge , one deck lower . There was also a SOM ( " Société d ' Optique et de Mécanique de haute précision " ) stereoscopic tactical rangefinder atop the admiral ' s bridge . As on the " Dunkerque " - class battleships , the systems provided raw target data to the transmitting station located beneath the armored decks , with continuous transmission to the director and the guns . The lookout and target designation facilities were similar in principle to the " Dunkerque " s . The lower lookout station ( " veille basse " ) for close - range contacts was on platform 3 of the fore tower . The middle level ( " veille éloignée " ) , for both surface and aerial contacts , was on platform 6 , and the upper lookout station ( " veille haute " ) , primarily for spotting torpedoes and mines , was on platform 9 . For night firing , there were five searchlights , one atop the admiral ' s bridge and two on either side of the funnel structure . Aircraft installations . As on the " Dunkerque " , aircraft installations ( aircraft hangar , crane and two catapults , for four seaplanes ) were fitted on the " Richelieu " s stern . The components were the same , trainable catapults operated with compressed air , which could launch a aircraft at , and a recovery crane with a capacity of . The aircraft were ( flying boat ) seaplanes of the Loire 130 type – single - engined ( 720 hp Hispano - Suiza 12 - cylinder liquid cooled ) with a weight , a maximum speed , a cruise speed at , two machine guns and two bombs . There were , however , differences from the " Dunkerque " s aircraft installations , resulting from the differing boiler placement : three side by side in each boiler room , instead of two ; thus , there was only one boiler room under the funnel instead of two . Consequently , the aft turret on the center line , turret VII , was on frame 68 . 85 on the " Richelieu " , versus on frame 44 . 30 , on the " Dunkerque " , as the aft lateral secondary turrets were respectively on frame 54 . 45 , versus 53 . 30 . With on the quarterdeck between the aviation hangar and the stern on the " Richelieu " , instead on " Dunkerque " , this enabled a second catapult to be worked in , the catapults being offset to port and starboard " en échelon " with an elevator between them . The planes were moved on rails from the hangar to the elevator where they were placed on both catapults . Two planes were to be stowed in the hangar on the same level , wings folded and in line , instead of being placed on the two platforms of a two - tier hangar lift , and two on the catapults with wings deployed . Protection . On " Richelieu " , the armor weight was and corresponded to 39 . 2 % of the total weight , for a normal displacement , with of fuel ( half of full load ) . This figure may be compared to those given for the " Dunkerque " , 35 . 9 % , or the " Strasbourg " , 37 . 3 % , with a or normal displacement , with of fuel ( ¾ of full load ) . A comparison with other battleships is more difficult . The figures given for the " Iowa " - class battleships are 18700 tons for the armor weight and 41 . 6 % of tons standard displacement , which corresponds for the " Richelieu " to more than 42 % of standard displacement . For the " Bismarck " , the figures are 17258 tons or 17540 tons for the armor weight , and from 43 . 92 % to 41 . 30 % , depending on whether the percentage is calculated with 39931 tons light displacement or 41781 tons standard displacement . As all these figures are very close to one another , it is clear that they are all superior to those for earlier battleships ( such as the " Dunkerque " ) or those given for the " King George V " - class battleships , 12500 tons and 34 . 80 % or for the " Littorio " - class battleships with weight of armor and 36 % of standard displacement . Armor . The armor thicknesses were as follows : The British " King George V " - class battleships and had a thicker armored belt than the " Richelieu " ( ) , but their turrets were less protected ( ) , and the horizontal armor ( ) was equivalent , but their command spaces were only protected against shrapnel . The U . S . Navy battleships had an equivalent armored belt ( about ) to the " Richelieu " , on the " North Carolina " and " South Dakota " classes , and a little less thick ( ) on the " Iowa " class . The main artillery turret protection was less thick ( ) on the " North Carolina " class , equivalent ( ) on the " Iowa " class , and thicker ( ) on the " South Dakota " class . The horizontal armor was a little less thick ( ) on the " North Carolina " class and equivalent ( to ) on the " South Dakota " and " Iowa " classes . The conning tower was better protected , with on the " North Carolina " and " South Dakota " classes and with on the " Iowa " class . The Italian " Littorio " had a thicker armored belt ( ) than the " Richelieu " , but otherwise they were less protected , with on the main artillery turrets , on the conning tower , on the upper armored deck and on the main deck . The German " Bismarck " - class battleships had a thinner armor than the " Richelieu " on the main artillery turrets ( ) , but thicker on the conning tower ( ) , and equivalent for the armored belt ( ) and horizontal armor ( to ) . Underwater protection . As on the " Dunkerque " , the underwater protection consisted of a sandwich of void spaces , light bulkheads , liquid loading compartments or compartments filled with a rubber - based water - excluding compound ( " ébonite - mousse " ) , and a heavy internal holding bulkhead to absorb the explosion of a torpedo head . The compartment outward of the inclined armor belt had a maximum depth of , and had a filling of " ébonite mousse " . Inward of this compartment , there was a bulkhead , enclosing a void compartment deep , then an oil fuel bunker deep ( less than on the " Dunkerque " ) , then a bulkhead , containing a void compartment deep , backed by a torpedo bulkhead of special steel . The maximum width was around . The reduction of comparing with " Dunkerque " was necessary to accommodate three boilers side by side in the boiler rooms . This figure of width was impressive , compared with the on the " King George V " , on the " Scharnhorst " , or on the " Bismarck " . The Italian " Littorio " - class battleships had a peculiar underwater protection system , designed by the Italian chief designer , " Generale Ispettore del Genio Navale " , which incorporated a diameter cylindrical expansion space . During the British aircraft attack on the Italian battleship fleet in Taranto , on 11 November 1940 , this did not prevent the sinking of the " Littorio " in shallow water . But the Achilles ' heel s of battleships facing torpedo attacks were their vitals that could not be protected , such as the shaft of the " Richelieu " at Dakar , on 8 July 1940 , or the rudder of the " Bismarck " in May 1941 . Propulsion . The French designers of the " Richelieu " had various constraints : a beam to accommodate the barbettes of four gun turrets , a long hull , limited by the length of the Navy shipbuilding infrastructure , and thus a length / beam ratio of 7 . 3 . All this required machinery generating 150 , 000 hp to reach the requested by the French Navy Board . It was then the greatest mechanical power installed on a battleship . It would be surpassed only on U . S . Navy " Iowa " - class battleships in 1943 – 1944 . An equivalent speed had been reached with less power ( 144 , 000 hp ) on , but with a hull , a displacement , and a ratio length / beam of 8 ; this was done without shipbuilding restraint or any displacement Treaty limit . All British or U . S . battleships built in the late 1930s , having to respect the tons displacement limit , had a speed of – the " King George V " class – or – " North Carolina " or " South Dakota " classes ; they were or long , with a propulsion plant developing respectively 110 , 000 , 120 , 000 , or 130 , 000 hp . The Italian " Littorio " - class battleships reached with a hull and 140 , 000 hp . The German battleship " Bismarck " had a speed with 138 , 000 hp , and reached 31 knots with forcing for 150 , 000 hp , with a length / beam ratio of only 6 . 9 as she had nearly the same hull length as the " Richelieu " , but a wider beam ( ) . The propulsion of the " Richelieu " was assured by six boilers , and four Parsons turbines . The boilers were of a new type , the so - called suralimenté meaning pressure - fired ( and thus the abbreviation of Sural ) boilers . These boilers were operated at a pressure of 27 kg / cm² ( 384 lb / in² ) at , as on the " Dunkerque " , but forced circulation and pressure firing resulted in steam production per cubic meter well in excess of conventional boilers ( 14 . 4 kg / m³ ) . They were long versus 5 . 33 m in on the " Dunkerque " , height versus , and moreover wide versus . Thus , due to the 2 - meter greater beam of " Richelieu " , it was possible to install three boilers side by side in two boiler rooms , instead of three rooms as on the " Dunkerque " . Boiler room 1 was underneath the fore tower , with , from starboard to port , boilers # 10 , # 11 , and # 12 , followed by the forward engine room housing the geared turbines for the wing shafts . Boiler room 2 ( directly underneath the funnel ) , with boilers # 20 , # 21 , and # 22 , produced the steam for the center shaft turbines in the aft engine room . A bulkhead separated the forward engine room from boiler room 2 , dividing the machinery into two independent units . In each Engine Room , there were two sets of turbines , each driving a four - bladed propeller with a diameter of . Each set comprised a single High Pressure ( 27 kg / cm² ) turbine , a Medium Pressure ( 10 kg / cm² ) turbine , and two Low Pressure two - flow rotor turbines ( 4 kg / cm² and 1 . 25 kg / cm² ) . Four turbo generators , each of , were used ; two were in the forward engine room , and the other two in a separate compartment directly abaft the main machinery spaces , adjacent to the magazines for the after turrets . The maximum fuel load for peace - time cruising was , but in wartime this figure was reduced to to maximize the underwater protection system ' s effectiveness , since filling the liquid loading compartments to the brim created additional pressure on bulkheads instead of absorbing the pressure of explosion . The radius of possible travel was at , at , and at . During speed trials , in April 1940 developing 123 , 000 hp were maintained with near displacement , and in June were maintained for 3 hours and 30 minutes , with displacement and 155 , 000 hp , and were reached with 179 , 000 hp forcing . 1938 Supplementary Program Battleships . In 1937 , Italy ordered two more s , to be laid down in 1938 . The French reaction was to order two more " Richelieu " - class battleships , with an improved design since the limited French naval building capacity required some delays before laying these units down . The second London naval disarmament conference ' s failure had marked the end of international naval armament limitation policy . Japan had withdrawn from the conference on 15 January 1936 ; Italy also declined to sign the Second London Naval Treaty . A so - called " escalator clause " had been included at the American negotiators ' urging , allowing the signatory countries of the Second London Treaty ( France , the United Kingdom and the United States ) to raise the battleship main battery caliber limit from to , and the limit for battleship displacement from tons to tons , if Japan or Italy still refused to sign after April 1 , 1937 . Ultimately the U . S . A . adopted guns for their new fast battleship classes , whereas the United Kingdom chose to respect the original Second London Naval Treaty limitations for the " King George V " - class battleships . Germany was not concerned , as she had not been invited to the second London naval disarmament conference , but officially the battleships and had guns and tons displacements . France decided to respect the limitations of tons and as long as no continental European power had broken them . Bearing such considerations in mind , the new Chief of the Navy General Staff ( " Chef d ' Etat - major Général de la Marine " ) , Admiral Darlan , ordered in December 1937 a study of new designs for two battleships , especially since the " Dunkerque " s trials were showing problems with her design , especially her all forward quadruple turret main artillery and her dual purpose ( anti - aircraft and anti - ship ) secondary artillery of relatively light caliber . Three projects were studied , the first ( project A ) with the same quadruple arrangement forward as the " Richelieu " , but different secondary artillery arrangements , the second ( project B ) with one quadruple turret forward and one quadruple turret aft , the third ( project C ) with two fore triple turrets and one triple turret aft , in every case with a caliber . Project C lead to an excess displacement of tons over the limit of tons , so it was not proposed to the Chief of the Navy General Staff . In June 1938 , the French Admiralty ' s choice was tightly linked with the need to maximally use the shipyards where very large ships could be built . The # 4 graving dock in the Brest Navy Yards was intended to be ready for building a new battleship in January 1939 , when the " Richelieu " will have been be floated out , as all other building for large ships were in use . On the new , in the Penhoët Shipbuilding Yards in Saint - Nazaire , the " Jean Bart " was being built and expected to be floated out in late 1939 - early 1940 . In the same shipbuilding yard , on the # 1 slipway where the and " Strasbourg " had been laid down , the was to be built from November 1938 till 1941 . Consequently , it was not reasonable to keep the Salou building dock empty for at least six months , waiting to start building a Project B design battleship which necessitated at least one year to come up with definitive drawings after it had been ordered . Therefore , the Project A design was chosen for the first battleship to be laid down in the Salou building dock . The Caquot dock could then be used for the second battleship to be laid down . Admiral Darlan chose project A variant 2 for the first ship of the " Richelieu " class ' second pair to be laid down ; she received the name of " Clemenceau " . He chose project B variant 3 for the second ship – a design in which he was much involved – and named her " Gascogne " after the French area where he was born , meaning also that this new battleship was a transition to a new battleship class again named after provinces . When in the summer of 1939 the French intelligence services warned the French Admiralty that the keels of two German battleships had been laid down , supposed to be of tonnage and with guns , but actually Plan Z H - 39 - class battleships , it was decided to design a ship free of the limitations of and . Based on the studies of 1938 ' s Project C , new battleship designs emerged that led to the so - called " Province " or later s that were never even ordered . " Clemenceau " . On the " Clemenceau " , the main artillery arrangement was as on the " Richelieu " and " Jean Bart " . But the battery would have consisted of four triple turrets of caliber , two amidships ( one on each side ) , and two aft in superfiring positions . Admiral Darlan , Chief of the Navy General Staff , thought that the three turrets aft on the " Richelieu " were a mistake , since two turrets in centerline positions would provide the same broadside of six guns and saved nearly , allowing having six more AA mountings . Two of these mountings would have been positioned in front of the fore tower in superfiring position abaft the fore turrets , and four other ones , abeam the funnel and the axial aft turrets , and abaft the amidships turrets . As the firing arcs of the turrets amidships were intended to be mainly directed forwards , the AA battery would have been shielded enough from their blast effects . Moreover these turrets would have been fully enclosed , with a plating against shrapnel . This new model of turrets was known as the CAD Model 1937 , and also as the so - called « mine sweeper sloop type » since it was intended to be installed on the and minesweeper sloop classes ; it was also intended for the destroyer class too , and as a secondary battery on the " De Grasse " cruiser class , to be commissioned in the late 1930s or early 1940s . But this new arrangement had some difficulties . The second aft turret in superfiring position had a greater part of its barbette above the main armored deck , and thus needed more plating . Thus , the turret faces ' armor thickness had to be reduced to – instead of – the armored belt ' s to , and the main turrets ' rear plates ' to . The auxiliary fire control system abaft the funnel , for the battery , was to be mounted about higher than in the " Richelieu " , requiring a greater funnel height . Two more fire control systems with OPL stereoscopic rangefinders , for the AA battery , would have been installed on the sides of the fore tower . To save weight , particularly in the heights , the anti - ship fire control system for the battery would have not been installed , but the two remaining fire control directors for the battery , on the aft tower and on the fore tower in the upper position , would have been fitted with a stereoscopic OPL rangefinder . With these arrangements , the anti - ship and anti - aircraft artillery on the " Clemenceau " would be better than that originally intended for the " Richelieu " and " Jean Bart " . As a last consequence , the center line arrangement of the turrets aft placed the extreme aft turret ( turret VI ) in frame 54 . 45 , while on the " Richelieu " the extreme aft turret ( turret VII ; in the center line position ) was on the 68 . 85 frame . Thus , the aviation hangar would have been shortened by nearly . But the aft lateral turrets ' removal , which were on the " Richelieu " precisely on the frame 54 . 45 , would allow having a broader hangar . The two sea planes intended to be sheltered , wings folded , in the hangar would have been accommodated side by side instead of in line . Otherwise , the aviation facilities would have been the same as on the " Richelieu " . The short - range anti - aircraft battery would have been six twin ACAD Mode 1935 mountings , installed with their fire control systems on nearly the same positions as on the " Richelieu " , but the two forward mountings were lightly abaft the turret II barbette , and for the four after mountings one deck higher . New quadruple " zénithaux " mountings , intended to be used against dive - bombing aircraft , would have been installed on each side of the quarterdeck near the aviation hangar . " Gascogne " . The most conspicuous change with the " Gascogne " would have been the return to a main artillery arrangement with a quadruple gun turret aft . This rearrangement of armament also would result in a shift of superstructures forward so that these were now mounted almost exactly midships and no longer at a considerable distance aft of the midship position as in the first " Richelieu " - class units . The " Gascogne " s secondary artillery would have been three triple turrets of caliber , all on one axial line , two in a superfiring position forward and one between the funnel and the aft turret , which freed up the sides of the ship for eight anti - aircraft dual mountings of caliber . As the guns ' magazines would have been be near the main artillery turrets ' magazines , which would increase risks , the turrets ' armor had to be improved . First , in July 1938 it was proposed to increase the turret armor thickness to on the faces ( instead of ) , on the roofs , and on the sides ( instead of ) ; the barbettes would have remained at . In February 1939 , a rebalancing was proposed with a thickness of for the barbette , for the turret faces , and from to for the turret sides . A thinner upper armored deck had been considered , reducing its thickness to around , instead of around , but there is no proof that such a decision was actually taken , beyond a S . T . C . N . recommendation dated 5 March 1938 . In the December 1938 designs , aircraft installations were intended to be fitted at the ship ' s center , with trainable catapults between the fore tower and the funnel , and a hangar at the after tower ' s base , but problems with positioning the AA battery too near the main and secondary batteries resulted , in February 1939 , in again positioning the aircraft installations at the ship ' s stern . A single axial catapult would have had its pedestal countersunk in the quarterdeck , with an internal hangar in a recess under the first deck and a lift to hoist the seaplanes to the first deck level in order to avoid the blast effects of the rear turret firing , which also would have required positioning one deck higher the aft turret , on the " Vittorio Veneto " - class battleships . The hull seaplanes would have been of a new twin - motored type , the Farman / NCAC NC 420 , with an increased endurance ( km at 240 km / h , versus km at 150 km / h for the Loire 130 ) . Its prototype was almost complete in June 1940 but never flew . Two seaplanes would have been stowed in the hangar in line , and a third one would have been parked on rails on the quarterdeck , to the aviation hangar ' s starboard . Thus , the eight CAD Model 1937 turrets would have been positioned in four groups of two , amidships , in the four corners of the superstructure . Each group of two turrets would have had a fire control system , with a OPL rangefinder ; for the forward groups this would be on each side of the fore tower , and for the aft turret groups it would be atop the after tower . Thus , the backup system for the battery , would have been eliminated , and the secondary battery ' s fire control direction insured by the upper system in the fore tower for anti - ship gunnery and by the battery ' s systems for anti - aircraft gunnery . The six AA Model 1935 mountings would have been installed with four mountings abeam the forward turret ( two on the forecastle and two a little abaft , one deck higher ) , with their fire control systems amidships between the fore and the aft tower , and the two after mountings would have been positioned abeam the after superstructure with their fire control systems a little forward and one deck higher . The " zénithaux " quadruple mountings would have had to be repositioned amidships between the fore and after towers , because on the quarterdeck – as on the " Clemenceau " – they would have been excessively exposed to the blast from the aft main turret . History . " Richelieu " . The keel was laid down on 22 October 1935 in Brest . The hull was floated out on 17 January 1939 . " Richelieu " then left the Salou graving dock , to be armed in one of the docks at the Brest Navy Yards . The bow and the stern , built separately , were attached there since the Salou graving dock was only long . Mechanical trials began at the end of March 1940 . In April 1940 , " Richelieu " went to sea for the first time . In late May and mid - June , the Commanding Officer , Captain Marzin carried out speed and gunnery trials , reaching 32 knots , and firing a few shots from her main and secondary batteries . Due to the advance of German troops , " Richelieu " hastily left Brest bound for Dakar on 18 June 1940 , having on board 250 shells but only 48 powder charges for her main battery . Escorted by the s and , she reached Dakar on 23 June 1940 . Dakar , under Vichy ' s orders . As the local political conditions seemed very dubious regarding the acceptance of the armistice between France and Germany , Captain Marzin decided to proceed to Casablanca two days later , shadowed by a powerful British battle group . The " Richelieu " was sent back to Dakar by the French Admiralty on 28 June where she moored in the outer roadstead , east of Dakar harbour and north of the island of Gorée , protected only , on the high sea side , by a line of five seized British flagged freighters . Her anti - aircraft artillery was very weak . The turrets could not fire on aerial targets , as the corresponding uppermost rangefinder on the fore tower had not been put in service ; moreover , shells and powder charges were lacking . Only the six turrets were usable . The short range anti - aircraft artillery had only four double semi - automatic mountings , four quadruple Hotchkiss machine gun s , and two twin 13 . 2 mm machine guns . The 22 June 1940 armistice prompted British anxiety that the French Navy would be taken over by the Axis Powers . This led to attacks from the Royal Navy against the French warships ( Operation Catapult ) : to seize them ( in British harbors ) , sink them ( at Mers el - Kebir ) , or intern them ( at Alexandria ) . During the night of July 7 to 8 , five days after the attack on the French fleet at Mers - el - Kebir , a team from attempted to damage the " Richelieu " with depth charge s moored under her stern , but they did not explode . In the morning , Swordfish bomber s from the " Hermes " torpedoed " Richelieu " below the armored deck . This caused a long hole , and disabled the starboard propeller shaft ; flooding caused her stern to touch bottom . One torpedo is likely to have hit the depth charges moored during the night . The crippled battleship was pumped out after a few days and made seaworthy for emergencies , and moored inside the Dakar harbor . On 24 September , the " Richelieu " took part in the defence of Dakar against British and Free French forces . There was a gunnery duel between " Richelieu " and the British battleships and : HMS " Barham " was hit twice by the shore batteries manned by ratings from the " Richelieu " . In the engagement the " Richelieu " was struck by two shells causing no serious damage ; there were 250 near misses . The " Richelieu " was damaged in the battle the first time her main battery fired : a shell blew back and disabled two guns in the # 2 main turret ; this was thought to be from the use of the wrong propellant type . There was no more firing during this day with the # 2 main turret . On the day after , the # 1 main turret was used instead . The propellant was changed to the SD19 propellant of the reconditioned " Strasbourg " powder charges ; however , this caused serious problems regarding range - finding . In 1941 , an inquiry commission under Admiral concluded there had been a mistake in the shell base design . During the two days , the " Richelieu " fired a total of 24 rounds . No hits were recorded . The third day , as HMS " Resolution " had been struck by a torpedo from a French submarine , the British and Free French force retreated . Temporary repairs were completed in Dakar ; some light anti - aircraft mountings were added , partly taken from the wreck of the destroyer ( severely damaged by a heavy cruiser during the battle ) . During the first months of 1941 , the " Richelieu " was the first French battleship to be fitted with an early French radar ( designated as " electro - magnetic detection " ) . On 24 April 1941 , the " Richelieu " could sail at on three engines , the fourth propeller having been removed . During July 1941 , three Loire 130 seaplane s were shipped . On the Allies ' side . After French forces in Africa joined the Allies after the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942 , the " Richelieu " sailed for refitting at the New York Navy Yard on 30 January 1943 . The three ruined barrels of the " Richelieu " s upper main battery turret were replaced by barrels previously fitted on the , the second " Richelieu " - class unit , that was staying at Casablanca . The fourth barrel from the " Jean Bart " was used for trials at the Dahlgren firing range and never made its way onto the battleship . The seaplane equipment ( hangar , catapults , and crane ) had been removed in Dakar . The space thus spared on the stern was used to mount anti - aircraft guns on the rear deck . The overall anti - aircraft armament was massively reinforced , with 48 AA guns in single mounts replacing the original Hotchkiss machine guns , and 14 quad turrets replacing the original semi - automatic guns . Adoption of US - pattern secondary batteries made providing ammunition easier ; a special factory had to be set up to produce ammunition for the main battery . She remained with only two rangefinder s on the fore tower , and the rear mast was shortened . She was fitted with air and surface warning radar , but the U . S . Navy was reluctant to provide gunnery practice radars . All these modifications increased her displacement by . After sea trials – with a maximum speed of – the refit was declared complete on 10 October 1943 . The " Richelieu " sailed for Mers el - Kebir on 14 October and thence to Scapa Flow , arriving on 20 November . She served with the British Home Fleet from November 1943 to March 1944 , participating in an operation off the Norwegian coast in January 1944 . She was then transferred to the British Eastern Fleet to cover for British battleships undergoing refit ; this was despite reportedly strong anti - Gaullist sympathies on board and limitations of her radar and ammunition ( only available from US sources ) . She arrived at Trincomalee , Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ) on 10 April 1944 , in time to join the attack by Task Force 65 on Sabang on 19 April ( Operation Cockpit ) and on Surabaya in May 1944 ( Operation Transom ) ; she also served in Operations Councillor and Pedal , in June . On 22 July , she sailed to attack Sabang and Sumatra ( Operation Crimson ) and returned to Trincomalee on 27 July . Relieved by , the " Richelieu " returned to Europe . After about a week in Toulon , she sailed for Casablanca , where she arrived on 10 October 1944 , for careening . She was refitted in Gibraltar in January 1945 , and rejoined the Eastern Fleet till the end of the war against Japan , arriving back at Trincomalee on 20 March 1945 . Now with Task Force 63 of the British East Indies Fleet , she joined in more bombardments of Sabang in April and of the Nicobar Islands in late April to early May . The next operation , to intercept the , was abortive . The " Richelieu " refitted at Durban from 18 July to 10 August , and arrived via Diego Suarez at Trincomalee on 18 August , learning of the Japanese surrender on 15 August . She left Trincomalee on 5 September to participate in the liberation of Singapore , Operation Tiderace . While she was passing down the Straits of Malacca on 9 September , at 07 : 44 a magnetic mine detonated to starboard . She eventually limped into Singapore at noon on 11 September . Post war . After V - J Day , during the last three months of 1945 , " Richelieu " took part in the return of French forces to Indochina , particularly at Nha Trang , with her " Fusiliers Marins " landing party , and delivering gun support . When " Richelieu " left for France , the crew received congratulations from General Leclerc , the French Commanding General in Indochina . On 29 December , she sailed for France , and arrived in Toulon on 11 February 1946 . After 1946 , she had the classic existence of a warship during peacetime , alternating between training times and such tasks as , maneuvering with the aircraft carrier – formerly – when she joined the French Navy , taking the President of the French Republic for a visit to the French West Africa colonies in 1947 or officially visiting Portugal . During a careening in Toulon in 1951 , she was fitted with French - built radar devices , and received one new - built gun and three guns seized by the Germans , two having been installed during the war in shore batteries in Norway and in Normandy , the third having been used for trials at the Krupp proving grounds in Meppen ( Germany ) . Once in her career ( on 30 January 1956 ) , she maneuvered with the " Jean Bart " for a few hours , before being based in Brest as a gunnery training school . Placed in the reserve fleet in 1958 , she was in 1968 decommissioned and sold to Italian ship scrappers . " Jean Bart " . From Saint - Nazaire to Casablanca . The " Jean Bart " was laid down in December 1936 ; it was built in the large dock in later named the " " Jean Bart " dock " and was expected to leave it in October 1940 . In May 1940 , it was decided that the uncompleted battleship had to be sent to a safer place in Britain or in French Africa , beyond the Luftwaffe ' s range . The ship was afloat in the fitting - out basin ; however , this was separated from the navigational channel by an earth dam . When it appeared that the Battle of France was on its way to be won by the Wehrmacht by late May , work on dredging the earth dam was begun in order to be ready to leave at a high tide on June 20 . Half the propulsion machinery ( boilers and turbines ) was fitted to be worked when necessary . On June 18 , as the German Panzer division s were approaching , the Commanding Officer was ordered to be ready to leave immediately for Casablanca or to scuttle the ship . It was not before the middle of the next night that the dredging work was finished with very narrow margins for the battleship to pass through , and in the early hours of 19 June , nearly in view of the German vanguard , the " Jean Bart " – barely 75 % completed , her steam engines never having been worked before , and under the threat of German bombers – was taken out of her St . Nazaire ' s dock by four tugs and reached under her own steam Casablanca , Morocco , on June 22 ; the average speed on the journey ' s final leg was . Only one of her two main turrets had been installed by then ; the second turret ' s guns had to be left or were lost with the sinking of the vessel shipping them . Her secondary battery was also not yet installed , and it was replaced by anti - aircraft machine gun s . No rangefinder was fitted . The " Jean Bart " , moored in Casablanca harbor , stayed uncompleted as facilities to complete her were completely lacking . On 8 November 1942 , Allied landings in French North Africa ( Operation Torch ) begun . The " Jean Bart " , with her guns opened fire on the U . S . warships covering the landings , range finding being done using the shore stations of Sidi Abderhamane and Dar Bou Azza and the data sent by phone to the battleship . But she was quickly silenced by the second hit from the guns of the , which jammed the turret rotating mechanism on the French battleship . The sixth of the seven shells which hit her exploded in a magazine of turret , which was empty as these turrets had not been installed . In normal war circumstances , this event would have had catastrophic consequences . These magazines ' armor weakness was known , and was intended to be corrected on the " Gascogne " . On November 10 , her turret having been overhauled , " Jean Bart " almost hit the , the Task Force 34 flagship . Bombers from the aircraft carrier soon inflicted severe damage on her , two heavy bombs hitting the bow and the stern , and the battleship settled into the harbor mud with decks awash . Completion . After the French North Africa forces joined the Allies , " Jean Bart " was made seaworthy to be refitted with American help , as with the " Richelieu " . The French Admiralty ' s wish – presented by Vice Admiral Fenard , Chief of the French Naval Mission – to complete the " Jean Bart " in U . S . shipyards was discussed during 1943 . But the U . S . Navy authorities concluded the task exceeded their capacities , for the ship was too different from the equivalent U . S . warships , and the correct parts were lacking . Instead of completing her as designed , it was proposed in May 1943 to complete her with only one main artillery turret , using guns taken on the French battleship that had joined the Allied forces ( after she had stayed from 1940 to 1943 in Alexandria ) . Fifteen U . S . - built dual - purpose double turrets , sixteen Bofors quad mountings , numerous Oerlikon mountings , and aircraft installations for six planes ( Grumman Avenger or Fairey Barracuda bombers and Hellcat or Seafire fighters ) , would have transformed the " Jean Bart " into a kind of hybrid battleship - aircraft carrier . A second proposal , less expensive but always with the same main artillery turret , had seventeen double turrets and twenty Bofors quad mountings and would have yielded a kind of AA battleship . Admiral King , Commander in Chief , United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations , decided finally in March 1944 not to agree to any French proposals , and the " Jean Bart " stayed in Casablanca . The question of the " Jean Bart " s completion was once more discussed by the French Admiralty in 1945 . Was she to be scrapped ? Completed as a classic battleship as designed ? Transformed into an aircraft carrier ? On 21 September 1945 , the Higher Council of the French Navy agreed rapidly she was not to be scrapped . The discussion to choose between the other possibilities seems to have been rather unsatisfying . Mr . , Chief Naval Constructor , French Navy , who had designed the in the late 1930s , presented a project for a transformation into an aircraft carrier operating forty / fifty - four planes , for a cost of 5 billion Francs , and with a delay of five years or less . Some admirals , namely Admiral Fenard , formerly chief of the French Naval Mission to the U . S . A . , and Admiral Nomy , who had been a Naval Aviation pilot and would be later Chef d ' Etat - major Général de la Marine ( 1951 – 1953 ) , found surprising that so few planes were being accommodated on a ship with a displacement of , as equivalent ships in other navies were operating twice as many planes . In the minutes of the 21 September 1945 meeting of the Navy Higher Council , Rear Admiral Barjot wrote : " The design of aircraft carrier presented to the Council is called , by a member , " caricature " in regard to a project which would be established with the wish to create an efficient aircraft carrier . . . Despite the war learnings , the outdated myth of big gun goes on dominating our naval doctrine . . . It was surprising enough to see in 1945 the Navy General Staff supporting , doctrinally , against the aircraft carrier solution , the battleship solution " . It is known that the British aircraft carrier , laid down in 1942 and launched in 1946 , with a displacement of ( full load ) , was by then designed for accommodating 80 planes . However , the French experience of a battleship converted into an aircraft carrier , the , was rather unsuccessful , her slow speed having led to use her only as aircraft transport ship . It was decided finally to complete " Jean Bart " as an integral battleship , with the aim to get , with a delay of five years , a command ship , heavily anti - aircraft armed , with a capacity of naval bombing for attack against land . The " Jean Bart " left Casablanca in August 1945 to Cherbourg , where was , by then , the only usable French graving dock on the French Atlantic coast , and entered in one of the Brest Laninon docks in March 1946 . Work progressed slowly as the Brest Navy Yards had to be rebuilt in the meantime after severe wartime destruction . The battleship emerged with a much more compact fore control tower , topped by only one rangefinder ( " Richelieu " had two ones after her refit ) . In 1948 , she received an additional bulge to limit the increase of her draught , due to the planned fitting of a stronger anti - aircraft artillery ; her beam reached . Gunnery and speed sea trials showed a top speed of more than . Career . The " Jean Bart " was officially commissioned on 16 January 1949 , but the anti - aircraft short range artillery , twelve dual mountings and fourteen Bofors licensed dual mountings , was not fitted before 1952 – 1953 . The " Jean Bart " was admitted to active service on 1 May 1955 . She soon took the President of the French Republic in an official visit to Copenhagen , and went on to Oslo . In July , she took part ( in New York ) in ceremonies celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Newport landing of French troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau , during the American War of Independence . On 21 October , in Toulon , the " Jean Bart " succeeded the " Richelieu " as the flagship of the South Group of Schools . During her active career , the " Jean Bart " had a complement of 750 to 900 men ; 1500 had been planned . She reached more than 1200 men when she was about to be sent due to the Suez Canal crisis , but even then , only one turret and the axial turret could be manned . In 1956 , she took part in the operations off Port - Saïd during the Suez Crisis , but the French bombing support of land operations was not primarily by the four shots fired by her guns against the land , but by the French Aeronavale Corsairs , and the " Jean Bart " s main operational contribution was to ship the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment from Algiers to Cyprus . After having fired the last French Navy gun shots in July 1957 , the " Jean Bart " was placed in reserve , on August 1 , 1957 , and served as a school ship for the gunnery training schools in Toulon . Afterwards , there were some proposals in 1957 – 1958 to modernize her anti - aircraft artillery with new turrets ( Model 53 in place of Model 45 ) , or later to transform her into a guided missile battleship as had been ( but no French - built missile existed at that time , so it was proposed to use the U . S . Terrier missile ) . In 1964 , when a command ship was looked for by the Pacific Center for Nuclear Experiments , the cruiser " was preferred to the " Jean Bart " , which would have been more expensive to transform . Decommissioned in 1968 , the " Jean Bart " was scrapped in 1970 near Toulon , leaving the Turkish , formerly the , the only survivor afloat in European waters of the battleship era . The " Jean Bart " was overall an experimental battleship , never fully operational , mainly because of budget cuts but also because , when the " Jean Bart " was completed , the battleship was no longer the " capital ship " for the French Navy , since instead three aircraft carrier s – the , , and – operated during the 1950s in bombing support against land in Indochina , in Algeria , and during the Suez Crisis . However , she was very useful post - war as a testbed for new French - built naval AA guns and radars . " Clemenceau " and " Gascogne " . The third unit , the " Clemenceau " , was laid down in the Salou graving dock as soon as the " Richelieu " had left it . Work progressed slowly , as the " Clemenceau " did not have priority in naval building unlike the first pair of the " Richelieu " class . Thus , in mid - 1940 – nearly eighteen months later – she was only 10 % completed as a hull section of . Taken by the Germans as a war booty , she was registered by the Kriegsmarine as " Battleship R " but the Germans never seriously considered continuation of construction work . Made buoyant , presumably in 1941 , to vacate the building basin , moored near the submarine base , or towed to Landevenec , and intended for use by the Germans as a blocking ship to seal off the harbour entrance , this uncompleted hull was sunk during a U . S . air raid at the beginning of the offensive to free Brest ( on 27 August 1944 ) and scrapped post - war . In the late 1950s , the name of Clemenceau was given to the first modern post - war French - built aircraft carrier , . The fourth unit , the planned " Gascogne " , was intended to be laid down in the " " Jean Bart " dock " at Saint - Nazaire as soon as the " Jean Bart " would have freed the building dock to be transferred in the nearby fitting - out dock , which was done on 6 March 1940 . But , when the ship building yard was occupied by the Germans , in June 1940 , the battleship had not been yet formally ordered . No work was ever begun , as the keel was not laid down due to the German occupation . Just some stored parts and material would have been declared war booty and registered as " Battleship S " .