FRENCH BATTLESHIP " JEAN BART" 1950

Description

Jean Bart was a French battleship of World War II named for the seventeenth century seaman and corsair Jean Bart. Jean Bart was laid down in December 1936 and launched on March 6, 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. Like other French assets in North Africa, Jean Bart went under control of the Vichy government. On November 8, 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 inch (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. 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. (Scale : 1/700e)