French Battleship Jean Bart (1940) - History - at Casablanca

At Casablanca

The Jean Bart, moored in Casablanca harbour, stayed uncompleted as facilities to complete her were completely lacking. Her 90 mm and 37 mm mountings were even disembarked, and reallocated to the Casablanca harbour anti-aircraft defence, and the battleship left with only four twin 13.2 mm AA machine guns.

During 1941, a 14 m (46 ft) duplex OPL Modèle 1937 rangefinder was installed on the fore tower platform 8, and another 8 m (26 ft) duplex OPL Modèle 1937 range finder, atop the #2 turret. A 3 m (9.8 ft) SOM range finder was fitted atop the conning tower for navigation, and, in October, two fire control directors, with 3 m (9.8 ft) SOM range finder, removed from the Dunkerque, were fitted on the bridge wings.

In April 1942, the anti-aircraft defence was reinforced with four 37 mm AA single CAS Modèle 1925 mountings,and two new-built 90 mm twin AA mountings.

In May, a standard test-firing of the 380 mm guns was carried out, as a fire control system was conceived, using triangulation from three points, the forward tower of Jean Bart, and the shore stations of Sidi Abderhamane and Dar Bou Azza.

In June, two 37 mm AA double semi-automatic CAD Modèle 1933 mountings were fitted as the single 37 mm Modèle 1925, but one, were disembarked. The French DEM early radar installation was installed, with two rotating antennæ atop the forward tower, and passed for operational service in October.

During early November, a fifth 90 mm AA mounting was installed.

On 8 November 1942, Allied landings in French North Africa (Operation Torch) begun. The Jean Bart, with her 380 mm (15 in) guns opened fire on the U.S. warships covering the landings. She soon suffered moderate damage from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger's Dauntless bombs, then she was silenced by the fifth hit from the 406 mm (16.0 in) guns of the USS Massachusetts battleship, which jammed the turret rotating mechanism on the French battleship. The first of the seven 406 mm (16.0 in) shells which hit her, and the only one which pierced the upper armoured deck, had exploded in a magazine of 152 mm (6.0 in) turret, which was empty as these turrets had not been installed. In normal war circumstances, this event would have had catastrophic consequences. These magazines' armour weakness was known, and was intended to be corrected on the Gascogne.

On November 10, her 380 mm (15 in) turret having been overhauled, Jean Bart almost hit the USS Augusta, the Task Force 34 flagship. Bombers from the USS Ranger soon inflicted severe damage on her, two heavy bombs hitting the bow and the stern, and the battleship settled into the harbour mud with decks awash.

The Jean Bart Commanding Officer, Captain Barthes, was promoted Rear Admiral on the 18 November 1942. During the three days of the 'Battle of Casablanca' (whose name was given, in April 1943, to the nameship of the U.S. Navy's escort aircraft carrier class, the Casablanca class escort carrier) Jean Bart fired twenty-five 380 mm rounds, and suffered twenty-two seamen killed.