Biography
Jean Bart was born into the family of Cornelius Bart and Catherine Janssen. Jean Bart's ancestors were hereditary sailors and fishermen, who at times combined their profession with the craft of a corsair. His ancestors apparently had Flemish roots, since Dunkirk at that time was also inhabited by representatives of this nationality.
The grandfather of the future privateer, Cornelius Bar, commanded corsair ships and died from wounds received in battle. His cousin, the privateer Jan Jacobsen, became famous for defending the departure of his comrades' ships at the cost of his life. Jean's father, who bore the name Cornelius like his grandfather, also died in battle as a corsair, leaving behind two young sons: Jean and Gaspard. The first, from the age of 12, continued the family tradition and began sailing on coasters and fishing boats in the North Sea and the English Channel. From the very beginning of his career, Jean stood out among his peers for his resourcefulness and determination, and therefore rose in positions: cabin boy, sailor, mate. The capable young man managed to fight against England as part of the Dutch fleet, under the command of the famous Admiral de Ruyter during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. However, with the outbreak of the Dutch War (1672-78), Bar switched to French service.
Dutch War
With the outbreak of war, young Jean Bart, at the age of 21, enlisted on a corsair ship, and in 1674 became captain of the corsair galliot Rua David. According to some sources, he was appointed to this position, according to others, he equipped the ship with his own savings. The ship was small. It was armed with only 2 cannons, and the crew consisted of 36 people. And in the very first battle off the island of Texel, the corsair met a Dutch frigate with 18 guns and 60 people on board, which they boarded in fierce hand-to-hand combat. The number of guns on board was not enough for a corsair of great importance, he preferred to take his prizes by boarding.
Glory and success, as well as rich trophies, allowed the young corsair to join the community of shipowners in Dunkirk. The shipowners entrusted Bar with the ten-gun frigate Royal, appointing him captain. On it, in 1674-1675, Bar captured 26 ships, including the Dutch 12-gun frigate Esperance and the 18-gun ship Berger.
Bahr's next ship was the 18-gun Palma, on which he captured 33 ships in 1676 and 1677, including the 24-gun Dutch frigate Swanemburg and the 36-gun ship Neptune. After capturing the latter, the corsair came to the attention of Minister Jean Baptiste Colbert and personally Louis XIV. On September 18, 1676, Colbert wrote to Hubert, the quartermaster of the royal navy at Dunkirk:
“His Majesty was very pleased to hear that a privateer from Dunkirk, under the command of Jean Bart, had captured a Dutch warship of 32 guns. Recognizing the utmost importance of encouraging these captains to continue the war they are waging against the Dutch, you, M. Hubert, will find enclosed with this letter a gold chain, which His Majesty wished to present to Captain Jean Bart as a reward for his exploits. His Majesty could receive great benefit from the mentioned Dunkirk captains, they form a squadron from their ships... and therefore we order... to carefully find out whether they will agree to obey the flagship they have chosen... in case His Majesty supplies them with ships for corsairing... His Majesty especially forbids you... Mr. Hubert, report everything said here to anyone, so that His Majesty’s will does not reach prematurely.”
After this, Jean Bart became popular in Dunkirk, there were legends about him, but the sailor continued his career: commanding the 14-gun Dauphine in 1676, 1677 and 1678, Bart captured seven prizes, including the 32-gun Dutch frigate Seeder and three ships belonging to corsairs from Ostend; And commanding the ship "Mars" - 2 ships in 1678.
In total, before the conclusion of the Nimwegen Peace in 1678, Bar, commanding small ships and well knowing the combat area, captured, according to various sources, from 74 to 81 prizes.
April 1689. English Channel. The 24-gun French frigate Serpan engages a Dutch ship. The French are at a clear disadvantage. On board the Serpan there is a cargo of barrels of gunpowder - the frigate can fly into the air at any moment. At this moment, the ship's captain, Jean Bart, notices a 12-year-old cabin boy, who squatted down in fear. The captain, furious, shouts to the sailors: “Tie him to the mast. If he does not know how to look death in the eye, he is not worthy to live.”
The 12-year-old cabin boy was Francois-Cornille Bar, the son of Jean Bar and the future admiral of the French fleet.
Oh, what a fierce family they were!
The father is especially famous - the legendary Jean Bart from Dunkirk, the most daring and successful of the French corsairs of the 17th century. It was in his honor that the best battleship of the French Navy during the Second World War was named. Jean Bart is the second ship in the Richelieu series of battleships, which had a surprisingly long and eventful life.
Design
French battleships of the Richelieu class are rightfully considered the most balanced and advanced battleships of the pre-war period. They had many advantages and almost no serious disadvantages. Minor flaws in their design were gradually eliminated over the many years of their service.
At the time of construction, these were the fastest battleships in the world (32 knots), noticeably inferior in combat power only to the Yamato and approximately equivalent to the German Bismarck. But at the same time, the French “35,000-ton ships”, along with the American “North Caroline”, remained the smallest ships in their class.
Excellent performance was achieved using a special layout, placing two four-gun main battery turrets in the bow of the ship. This made it possible to save on the mass of the turrets (a four-gun turret weighed less than two two-gun turrets), as well as to reduce the length of the citadel (“a linear meter” of which weighed 25 tons), converting the allocated load reserve into additional armor thickness.
From the point of view of combat characteristics, the “all guns forward” scheme also had its advantages: the ability to fire full salvoes at the bow angles could be useful when pursuing enemy raiders and heavy cruisers. The guns grouped in the bow had a smaller spread of salvoes and simplified fire control. By unloading the aft end and shifting the scales to the midships, the ship's seaworthiness improved and the strength of the hull increased. Boats and seaplanes located in the stern were no longer at risk of exposure to muzzle gases.
The disadvantage of the scheme was the “dead zone” at the stern corners. The problem was partially solved by the unprecedentedly large firing angles of the main caliber turrets - from 300° to 312°.
Four guns in one turret created the threat of losing half of the entire main battery artillery from a single hit from a “stray” shell. In order to increase combat survivability, the Richelieu turrets were separated by an armored partition; each pair of guns had its own independent ammunition supply system.
380 mm French guns were superior in armor penetration to all existing German and British naval guns. The French 844 kg armor-piercing projectile could penetrate 378 mm of armor at a distance of 20,000 m.
The rapid slope of the chimney is a trademark of French battleships
The installation of nine medium-caliber guns (152 mm) turned out to be not very rational decision: their high power and armor penetration did not matter when repelling attacks from destroyers, at the same time, insufficient aiming speed and low rate of fire made them practically useless when repelling attacks from the air. It was possible to achieve acceptable characteristics only after the war, when this no longer made much sense.
In general, the question of everything related to air defense and fire control systems “hangs in the air”: due to the specific conditions of their completion, “Richelieu” and “Jean Bart” were left without modern radars. Despite the fact that before the war, France occupied a leading position in the development of radio-electronic equipment.
However, Richelieu managed to obtain a full set of modern radio equipment during repairs in the USA in 1943. Restored on its own, Jean Bart also received the best fire control system of its time. By 1949, 16 radar stations of various ranges and purposes were installed on board.
"Richelieu" arrives in New York
The air defense system of the late period looked very cool: 24 universal 100 mm cannons in twin mounts, coupled with 28 57 mm anti-aircraft guns. All guns had centralized guidance based on radar data. The Jean Bart, without exaggeration, received an outstanding air defense system - the best ever installed on a battleship. However, the approaching era of jet aircraft already placed different demands on anti-aircraft systems.
A few words about the armor protection of battleships:
Richelieu-class battleships had the best horizontal armor of any ship in the world. The main armored deck was 150...170 mm thick, reinforced by a 40 mm lower armored deck with 50 mm bevels - even the great Yamato could not boast of such indicators. The horizontal armor of the Richelieu battleships was not limited to the citadel: a 100 mm armored deck with bevels went into the stern (150 mm above the steering gear compartment).
The vertical armor of French battleships is worthy of no less admiration. The resistance of a 330 mm armor belt, taking into account its inclination of 15° from the vertical, side plating and 18 mm STS steel lining, was equivalent to homogeneous armor with a thickness of 478 mm. And at a meeting angle of 10° from the normal, the resistance increased to 546 mm!
Armored traverses differentiated by thickness (233-355 mm), a powerful conning tower, where the thickness of the walls was 340 mm of solid metal (+ 2 STS linings, a total of 34 mm), excellent turret protection (430 mm front, 300 mm sides, 260 -270 mm rear), 405 mm barbettes (80 mm below the main armored deck), local anti-fragmentation armor for important posts - there is nothing to complain about.
Special attention was paid to the issues of anti-torpedo protection: the depth of the PTZ ranged from 4.12 meters (in the area of the bow beam) to 7 meters (midship frame). During the post-war modernization of the Zhanu Baru, 122-meter boules with a width of 1.27 m were added. This further increased the depth of the PTZ, which, according to calculations, could withstand an underwater explosion with a power of up to 500 kg of TNT.
And all this splendor fits into a hull with a total displacement of only 48,950 tons. The given value corresponds to the Jean Bart model of 1949 after its completion and all post-war measures to modernize the battleship.
Overall rating
Richelieu and Jean Bart. Powerful, beautiful and very original ships, which stood out from other battleships with their well-thought-out, balanced design. Despite the large number of innovations introduced, the French never had to regret their bold decisions. The boilers of the Sural-Indre system operated uninterruptedly, in which fuel combustion occurred under an excess pressure of 2 atm. The design of the battleships demonstrated excellent combat stability. "Jean Bar", being in an unfinished state, was able to withstand five to seven hits from American 406 mm shells, each of which weighed a ton and a quarter. It’s easy to imagine the destructive power of these “blanks”!
We can safely say that in the person of "Richelieu" and "Jean Bar" any battleship of the Second World War would have met a worthy opponent, the outcome of a one-on-one duel with which hardly anyone could have predicted.
- “French LC “Richelieu” and “Jean Bart””, S. Suliga
Courage, Betrayal and Redemption
May 10, 1940 German troops invaded France. At that moment, the unfinished battleship Jean Bart was in Saint-Nazaire, whose entry into service was scheduled for October of the same year. Already on May 17, the situation became so serious that the French had to think about the immediate withdrawal of the battleship from Saint-Nazaire.
This could be done no earlier than on the night of June 20-21 - on the full moon, when the tide reaches its highest point. But before that, it was necessary to expand and deepen the canal leading to the Loire for the unhindered withdrawal of the huge ship.
Finally, it was necessary to complete the construction of the battleship itself - to partially commission its power plant, electricity generators, radio station, install propellers and equip the battleship with the necessary navigation equipment. Connect the galley, ensure the habitability of the compartments for placement in them personnel. It was not possible to install the entire planned composition of weapons - but the French planned to commission at least one main-caliber turret.
This entire enormous complex of work must be completed in one month. At the slightest delay, the French had no choice but to blow up the battleship.
Shipyard workers in Saint-Nazaire began a race against time. Under German bombing, working 12-hour shifts, 3,500 people attempted the impossible.
On May 22, the dock in which the Jean Bart stood was drained. Workers began painting its underwater part.
On June 3, a propeller was installed on the inner shaft of the left side (from a set of spare parts for the Richelieu, delivered from the Brest shipyard). Four days later, a propeller was installed on the starboard internal shaft.
The medium-caliber towers did not arrive by the appointed date. A compromise solution was urgently developed - to mount twin 90 mm anti-aircraft guns (model 1926) in their place. The guns and ammunition supply systems were installed in a matter of days, but the ammunition sent from Brest was late for the ship’s departure. The battleship was left without medium and universal calibers.
On June 13 and 14, a complex and time-consuming operation was carried out to install four 380 mm main caliber turret guns.
On June 18, the Germans entered Nantes, which lies only 65 km east of Saint-Nazaire. On this day, the tricolor flag of France was raised on the battleship. The supply of electricity from the shore stopped; now all the necessary electricity was generated by the only turbogenerator on board the Jean Bart.
By this time, the dredging workers managed to clear a channel only 46.5 m wide (with a battleship hull width of 33 meters!). The crew of the Jean Bart required remarkable courage and luck to safely navigate the battleship along such a narrow path.
The operation was scheduled for the next night. Despite the absence of most of the weapons on the battleship and the minimum reserve of oil on board (125 tons), the estimated depth under the keel did not exceed 20-30 centimeters.
The tugs pulled the Jean Bart out of the dock, but after only 40 meters of movement, the bow of the battleship buried itself in the mud. It was pulled off the shoal, but after a couple of minutes the ground began to grind under the bottom again. This time the consequences were more serious - the battleship damaged part of the bottom plating and the right propeller.
By 5 a.m., when the Jean Bart, assisted by its own vehicles, was already reaching the middle of the river, Luftwaffe planes appeared in the sky. One of the dropped bombs pierced the upper deck between the barbettes of the main battery towers and exploded in the internal compartments, forming a bulge in the deck flooring. The fire that arose was quickly extinguished with water from the broken pipeline.
At this time, the battleship was already confidently moving towards open ocean, reaching a speed of 12 knots. At the exit from the harbor, two tankers and a small escort of French destroyers were waiting for him.
Now that the horrors of imprisonment in Saint-Nazaire were behind us, the commander of the battleship, Pierre Ronarch, faced an obvious question: Where to go?
Despite the unfinished state and the absence of most of the crew (there were only 570 people on board, including 200 civilians - shipyard workers), on the evening of June 22, 1940, the battleship Jean Bart arrived safely in Casablanca. On the same day, a truce with the Germans was announced.
For the next two years, the Jean Bart rusted quietly at its pier in Casablanca; he was strictly forbidden to leave the harbor. The battleship was closely monitored by German and Italian authorities. British reconnaissance planes monitored the situation from the air (one of which was shot down by anti-aircraft fire from the battleship).
The French, hoping for the best, continued to maintain the Jean Bart mechanisms in working order, engaged in homemade repairs and modernization of the weapons. They repaired the hole from the German bomb with sheets of ordinary steel. The barbette of the unfinished turret II was filled with cement in order to reduce the trim at the stern. A set of rangefinders for fire control of the main and universal calibers, removed from the battleship Dunkirk, which was undergoing repairs, was delivered from Toulon. Anti-aircraft weapons were reinforced with five turrets with twin 90 mm guns. A search radar appeared on the roof of the superstructure.
Finally, on May 19, 1942, it came to the main caliber. With the permission of the occupation authorities, the Jean Bart fired five four-gun salvoes towards the sea. The tests were successful, but the event did not go unnoticed (and even more so, unheard) for the American consul in Casablanca. A dispatch was sent to Washington about the presence of North Africa a powerful, combat-ready battleship that could pose a threat to the allies. During Operation Torch (the landing of Anglo-American troops in North Africa) planned for November 1942, Jean Bart was included in the list of priority targets.
At dawn on November 8, 1942, a message was received on board the battleship about a group of unknown ships moving off the coast. At 6:00 local time, the team took up positions according to the combat schedule, and the main caliber guns were loaded. Closer to 8 am, through the clouds of smoke from the destroyers standing in the harbor separating pairs, the silhouettes of a battleship and two cruisers were seen.
The Americans were serious - battle group TG 34.1 was approaching Casablanca, consisting of the newest battleship Massachusetts with a 406 mm main caliber, supported by the heavy cruisers Wichita and Tuscaloosa, surrounded by a detachment of destroyers.
Museum ship USS Massachusetts, Fall River, today
The first strike was carried out by 9 Dontless dive bombers, which took off from the Ranger aircraft carrier located 30 miles from the coast. One of the bombs hit the rear of the Jean Bart. Having broken through several decks and the bottom, it caused flooding of the steering gear manual control compartment. Another bomb hit the embankment nearby - the battleship was showered with stone crumbles, and the hull received cosmetic damage.
This was only the first cruel greeting with which the Yankees greeted the ships of Vichy France. At 08:04, US Navy battleships and cruisers opened fire on the ships in Casablanca harbor. Over the next 2.5 hours, the Massachusetts fired 9 full salvoes of 9 shells and 38 salvoes of 3 and 6 shells at the French from a distance of 22,000 meters, achieving five direct hits on the Jean Bart.
The meeting with a supersonic 1226 kg alloy steel blank did not bode well. The greatest consequences could have been a hit from a shell that pierced the deck at the stern of the battleship and exploded in the cellar of the medium-caliber towers (luckily for the French, it was empty). Damage from the remaining four hits can be classified as moderate.
A piece of an armor-piercing shell that hit the Jean Bart
One of the shells pierced through part of the pipe and the superstructure, and exploded from the outside, causing shrapnel damage to the side. Closer to 9 am, the ship shuddered from two direct hits on the barbettes of the main battery towers. The fifth shell hit the stern again, in a place already damaged by the bomb. Also, there are discrepancies regarding two close explosions: the French claim that there was a direct hit in the armored belt and bulb of the battleship.
Due to the heavy smoke in the harbor, the Jean Bart managed to fire only 4 salvos in response, after which it was impossible to adjust the fire.
Having shot the motionless, unfinished battleship, the Yankees considered the task completed and retreated at full speed towards the open sea. However, by six in the evening of the same day, “Jean Bar” had restored its combat capability. The next day, his universal artillery fired 250 shells at the advancing Anglo-American troops, but the main caliber was not used so as not to fully reveal all the trump cards.
On November 10, an American arrogantly approached Casablanca heavy cruiser"Augusta". At this moment, "Jean Bar" fired a sighting salvo at it from 380 mm cannons. The Yankees took to their heels in horror, radiograms about the suddenly awakened giant rushed into the open air. The retribution was cruel: three hours later, the Dontlesses from the aircraft carrier Ranger attacked the French battleship, achieving two hits of 1000 pounds. bombs.
In total, as a result of artillery shelling and air strikes, the Jean Bart received heavy damage, lost most of its electricity, took on 4,500 tons of water and sat stern on the ground. The irretrievable losses of the crew amounted to 22 people (out of 700 sailors on board). The magnificent armor fulfilled its purpose to the end. For comparison, on board the nearby light cruiser Primoga killed 90 people.
Speaking about the damage to the Jean Bart, it is worth taking into account that the ship was unfinished, many of its compartments were not sealed. The only turbogenerator was damaged - power was provided using emergency diesel generators. There was a reduced crew on board the ship. Nevertheless, the immobile battleship turned out to be a “tough nut to crack” and greatly frayed the nerves of the allies.
After French forces in Africa joined the Allies, the Jean Bart was removed from the ground and prepared to be sent under its own power for repairs in the United States. However, unlike its parent "Richelieu", "Jean Bar" required extensive restoration repairs with the manufacture of the missing main caliber turret. The problem was complicated by the lack of drawings of the tower mechanisms and the difficulty of switching to the metric system of weights and measures. The process dragged on, and as a result, work on restoring the Jean Bart began on its own only after the end of the war.
Bold projects were considered for converting the Jean Bart into an aircraft carrier or an exotic “air defense battleship” with the installation of 34 twin universal five-inch guns and 80 Bofors anti-aircraft guns. As a result of all the discussions, the designers returned with the simplest, cheapest and most obvious option. Completion of the battleship according to the original design with the introduction of the latest achievements in the field of automation and radio technology.
The updated battleship returned to service in April 1950. Over the following years, Jean Bart was used as the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet of the French Navy. The ship made many calls to European ports and made a visit to the United States. Last time The Jean Bart was in the war zone in 1956 during the Suez Crisis. If the Egyptian leadership was stubborn, the French command planned to use the battleship's guns to bomb Egyptian cities.
Between 1961 and 1969, Jean Bart was used as a training ship at the artillery school in Toulon. In January 1970, the last of the French battleships was finally removed from the fleet and put up for sale. In the summer of the same year it was towed to La Seime to be dismantled for metal.
A veteran rests in his laurels of glory on the French Riviera
Based on materials from the monograph “French LC Richelieu and Jean Bart” by Sergei Suliga.
21 October 1651 – 27 April 1702
French naval sailor and privateer, national hero of France. He was a hereditary sailor and fisherman. His ancestors apparently had Flemish roots, since Dunkirk at that time was also inhabited by representatives of this nationality.
Biography
Jean Bart was born into the family of Cornelius Bart and Catherine Janssen. Jean Bart's ancestors were hereditary sailors and fishermen, who at times combined their profession with the craft of a corsair. His ancestors apparently had Flemish roots, since Dunkirk at that time was also inhabited by representatives of this nationality.
The grandfather of the future privateer, Cornelius Bar, commanded corsair ships and died from wounds received in battle. His cousin, the privateer Jan Jacobsen, became famous for defending the departure of his comrades' ships at the cost of his life. Jean's father, who bore the name Cornelius like his grandfather, also died in battle as a corsair, leaving behind two young sons: Jean and Gaspard. The first, from the age of 12, continued the family tradition and began sailing on coasters and fishing boats in the North Sea and the English Channel. From the very beginning of his career, Jean stood out among his peers for his resourcefulness and determination, and therefore rose in positions: cabin boy, sailor, mate. The capable young man managed to fight against England as part of the Dutch fleet, under the command of the famous Admiral de Ruyter during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. However, with the outbreak of the Dutch War (1672-78), Bar switched to French service.
Dutch War
With the outbreak of war, young Jean Bart, at the age of 21, enlisted on a corsair ship, and in 1674 became captain of the corsair galliot Rua David. According to some sources, he was appointed to this position, according to others, he equipped the ship with his own savings. The ship was small. It was armed with only 2 cannons, and the crew consisted of 36 people. And in the very first battle off the island of Texel, the corsair met a Dutch frigate with 18 guns and 60 people on board, which they boarded in fierce hand-to-hand combat. The number of guns on board did not matter much to the corsair; he preferred to take his prizes on board.
Glory and success, as well as rich trophies, allowed the young corsair to join the community of shipowners in Dunkirk. The shipowners entrusted Bar with the ten-gun frigate Royal, appointing him captain. On it, in 1674-1675, Bar captured 26 ships, including the Dutch 12-gun frigate Esperance and the 18-gun ship Berger.
Bahr's next ship was the 18-gun Palma, on which he captured 33 ships in 1676 and 1677, including the 24-gun Dutch frigate Swanemburg and the 36-gun ship Neptune. After capturing the latter, the corsair came to the attention of the minister Jean Baptiste Colbert and personally Louis XIV. On September 18, 1676, Colbert wrote to Hubert, the quartermaster of the royal navy at Dunkirk:
After this, Jean Bart became popular in Dunkirk, there were legends about him, but the sailor continued his career: commanding the 14-gun Dauphine in 1676, 1677 and 1678, Bart captured seven prizes, including the 32-gun Dutch frigate Seeder and three ships belonging to corsairs from Ostend; And commanding the ship "Mars" - 2 ships in 1678.
In total, before the conclusion of the Nimwegen Peace in 1678, Bar, commanding small ships and well knowing the combat area, captured, according to various sources, from 74 to 81 prizes.
In the fight against pirates
On January 8, 1679, the king promoted Bar to captain-lieutenant of the royal fleet. With the end of the war, Jean Bart found himself out of work for some time. During this time he fought in the Mediterranean against North African pirates. In 1686, he launched a daring raid on the Moroccan port city of Sale, the main refuge of Moorish corsairs in North-West Africa. From this raid he brought back 550 prisoners and the son of the local ruler. For this feat he was promoted to "frigate captain" in the Royal Navy.
Richelieu and Jean Bart were the largest battleships ever built in France - the very country that naval history and is obliged by the appearance in 1860 of the first seaworthy armored ship battleship. By the will of fate, it turned out that it was the Jean Bart that became, and most likely will remain, the last representative of this class of ships commissioned in the world, which for almost a century was the personification of sea power.
According to many experts, the Richelieu-class ships became the most innovative among the so-called “35,000-ton ships” or “treaty battleships”, the construction of which, after a long break due to the Washington Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Arms signed in 1922, was started by all the leading naval powers. . Almost all Western naval technical literature notes the good balance of the Richelieu project and the bold, if not revolutionary, design ideas embedded in it, which have always distinguished the French. The most significant ones include the location of the main caliber guns in two bow four-gun turrets, the concentration of the power plant in just four compartments, a powerful auxiliary battery, which, thanks to its large elevation angles, had universal properties, as well as a well-thought-out anti-torpedo protection system, which differed from traditional ones in its great depth (the largest among of all ships in the world) and a combination of empty compartments of the counter-flooding system filled with water-repellent material. And the armor protection of the vital parts of the Richelieu and Jean Bart is often called the best in the world, placing them in this indicator even higher than the Japanese super-battleship Yamato (mainly due to best quality French armor). The French introduced almost all of these innovations on their two previous battleships - Dunkirk and Strasbourg, which the Richelieu-class ships were so similar in appearance to. appearance that only a very experienced eye could distinguish them from each other. The increase in displacement made it possible to increase the caliber of the main and auxiliary batteries, the thickness of the armor and the depth of anti-torpedo protection, as well as install a more powerful power plant to ensure the 30-knot speed adopted for new French ships of all classes.
Unfortunately, all these reviews, which were flattering for French shipbuilders, remained, in many respects, purely theoretical. “Richelieu” and “Jean Bart” did not have time to enter service at the beginning of the Second World War and found themselves “hostages” of the French army, which was too quickly defeated by the German Wehrmacht. True, unlike the Dunkirk and Strasbourg, which were scuttled by their crews in Toulon in November 1942, the almost completed Richelieu and not yet fully completed construction of the Jean Bart were able to go to the ports of Africa, where the Germans, with all their desire , it was impossible to get there. But constrained by the harsh conditions of the truce, the most powerful French ships were never able to show what they were capable of in open battle. The first targets that their powerful guns fired at were the ships of the former allies, who, in turn, made every effort to prevent the Richelieu and Jean Bart from entering service. And only at the end of the war, when its outcome was no longer in doubt, and the only type of operations for battleships was coastal shelling with the support of landing forces, the first of them, after extensive modernization in the United States, managed to take part in hostilities, but... Pacific Ocean and against the only remaining serious enemy of the countries anti-Hitler coalition - imperial japan. In the end, both ships ended up in service with the French fleet, where they served without any major events until the end of the 60s, after which they suffered the inglorious fate of being sold for scrap. Nevertheless, as outstanding examples of military shipbuilding, these ships deserve to be told about them in more detail...
Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis (1585–1642), cardinal (since 1622), since 1624 head of the royal council, de facto ruler of France. During the military reforms he carried out, he did a lot for the French fleet. Jean Bart, a famous privateer who became famous in battles with the Dutch and British, vice admiral (1697) of the French fleet.
Design history
The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which set a limit for the standard displacement of battleships at 35,000 tons ("long" tons of 1016 kg each) and a limit for the caliber of their guns at 406 mm, declared the so-called "battleship holiday", which prohibited the construction of ships of this class until 1930. France and Italy, as compensation for their refusal to complete the construction of new battleships begun during the World War, were allowed to begin construction of “contractual” ships before the expiration of the specified period. Heavy economic situation and the constantly ongoing diplomatic negotiations for a long time did not allow both countries to get down to business, although the design studies of the projects were carried out with due intensity. Only in 1932 did the French parliament authorize the laying of the first battleship of a new generation - Dunkirk, and two years later - the same type Strasbourg. For many reasons, both economic and political, their standard displacement (26,500 T) turned out to be much lower than permitted, but the design concepts that became the basis for more powerful ships were incorporated into the project.
Two events had the greatest influence on the formation of the opinion of the Supreme Council of the Fleet, which was responsible for shipbuilding policy, regarding the appearance of future battleships. In 1933, Germany began construction of the third ship in the series of so-called " pocket battleships” and it was known that two more were planned. And in 1934, the leader of Fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini, announced his intention to build two 35,000-ton ships armed with 380 mm guns. Along with the already begun modernization of two old Italian dreadnoughts of the Giulio Cesare class (a response to the construction of Dunkirk), this meant that France was faced with the rearmament of its main rivals in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
On June 25, 1934, the Supreme Council discussed the current situation and planned a response. Two high-speed battleships of the "Dunkirk" type with 330-mm main caliber guns were quite enough to resist German diesel "pickpockets" with 283-mm artillery, but to maintain the balance of power in the Mediterranean, it was necessary to build two 35,000-ton battleships armed 380-mm or 406-mm main gun. The project of the ship, which met the Washington limits, received the official designation “PN 196” and on July 24 the following requirements were formulated for it:
Design requirements for a 35,000 t battleship
Standard displacement - 35,000 t (35,562 t)
Armament - 8 or 9 380 mm or 406 mm in 3 or 4 gun turrets; universal medium-caliber guns, located like on Dunkirk
Speed - 29.5-32 knots
Protection - belt 360 mm with an inclination of 11.3°, main deck 160+15, lower 40, bevels 50; anti-torpedo like on Dunkirk
In May 1936, two shipyards in Saint-Nazaire began building the modern French battleship Jean Bart, to some extent similar to the one whose construction had already begun in Brest and which later became known as Richelieu. The use of modern advanced technologies made it possible to reduce construction by as much as 10 months, which, due to the difficult political situation, was very opportune. On December 12 of the same year, the official laying ceremony took place. battleship, the launch was planned to be carried out in December 1939, but it was postponed for another year because suppliers, in the conditions of the outbreak of war, delayed the delivery of equipment and materials necessary to complete construction.
In order to speed up the process, the government had to increase the number of workers employed in construction to 3 thousand people who worked over 12-15 hours a day. Thanks to these timely measures, the ship surfaced at the shipbuilding dock in early March 1940, that is, much earlier than planned.
Battleship "Jean Bar"
After the invasion of France by Wehrmacht units at the end of spring "Jean Bar" became the target of massive air raids by German aircraft, due to which construction work was frozen for some time and most of the workers were dismissed. Officially, the battleship was supposed to be included in the fleet no earlier than October 1940, but by the beginning of summer it had practically no weapons, no engines or propellers, it was just an ordinary skeleton that required careful modification.
Realizing how risky it was to have a battleship of this class, albeit unequipped, in a city that was about to be occupied by the enemy, the government ordered workers to be assembled and the ship equipped with all the necessary equipment on a temporary basis. Work on equipping the ship should have been completed no later than June 20, since it was by this time, according to military calculations, that the Germans should have approached the approaches to the city.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that the width of the ship was over 35 meters, which was much less than the width of the canal leading from the Loire towards the sea. The canal had to be urgently deepened and expanded to at least 56 meters. It was necessary to carry out large-scale excavation work over a distance exceeding 200 meters in length, so they began immediately on May 25, without waiting for official confirmation from the government, which by that time did not really control anything.
Thousands of workers were involved in the construction work; their working day was extended to the maximum and increased to 18 hours with short breaks for lunch, breakfast and dinner.
French battleship Jean Bart In early June, shafts and propellers were installed on the battleship, which arrived from Brest, where by that time the construction of the Richelieu had already been completed. At the same time, tests were carried out on three steam boilers, balancing the rudder, propeller and shaft. 80 and 90 mm anti-aircraft guns were installed on the battleship as weapons, since the installation of guns of a more powerful caliber was delayed due to the basic lack of them. It should be noted that most of the still installed large-caliber guns did not have fuses and devices for firing a shot, which was kept in great secrecy, for fear that this information would reach German spies and the attack will follow immediately.
On June 16, steam was produced in the steam boilers for the first time, and 2 days later the workers fastened the screws to the shafts, installed a compass, telegraph and temporary telephone; they did not install signal lights; they limited themselves to providing the command staff with a sufficient number of signal flags. At noon on June 18, news arrived that German troops were only 65 kilometers from the city, it was time to leave, but the ship’s systems were still not fully debugged, malfunctions appeared every now and then, breakdowns occurred and even small fires, with which The team did very well. In addition, the matter was significantly complicated by the fact that, due to constant bombing, the workers did not have time to deepen the canal to the required depth; all hopes were pinned on a good tide, which was supposed to pick up the ship, removing it almost from the shallows.
Problems also arose with determining the future location of the battleship; at first it was planned to send it to Morocco, but the British intervened and offered to help deliver the ship to the shores of England, where it could be completed. The French government did not fully agree with the plans of the English government, therefore, when the final decision was made on the time of departure from the construction port, the battleship headed for Casablanca.
The departure of the battleship, as expected, was carried out on the 20th, despite the fact that this event was kept in the strictest confidence, German intelligence still found out about it and planes were sent to intercept and destroy the ship, managing to inflict significant damage on the battleship that was barely staying afloat before French aircraft could drive them away.
The battleship arrived in Casablanca on the 23rd and almost immediately the dismantling of excess equipment and weapons began. The guns were removed from the ship, strengthening the coastal battery with them, and lighter guns were installed instead, designed mainly to create a barrage from the air, due to whereby the Jean Bart practically lost its status as a battleship and turned into just a floating battery. The French battleship remained in this status in the port of Casablanca until the beginning of 1943, that is, until the port was conquered by the British and Americans.
Converted battleship Jean Bart The French hoped to send the battleship along with another battleship, the Richelieu, to America for repairs and re-equipment; two plans were developed in this regard, but both of them remained unrealized. By the end of the war, the French had to admit that the battleship was a very outdated ship and required serious repairs, so it was decided to leave it in France, where it underwent some repairs and even managed to take part in the post-war landing French landing in Indochina.
After conversion, the Jean Bart had a length of 247 and a width of 35.5 meters, with a displacement of over 48 thousand tons and a speed of more than 32 knots per hour.
The battleship was scrapped only in June 1970; attempts to turn it into a floating museum of the Second World War were unsuccessful, since there were no people willing to finance this project.
