War: September 1939 to May 1940

During the first eight months of the war, the French Navy mainly assisted Britain's Royal Navy in various capacities. Elements of the fleet escorted convoys in the Atlantic and engaged in anti-submarine activities.

Extensive laying of minefields was carried out; the light cruiser Pluton was lost to an accident during a minelaying operation. Strasbourg and Dunkerque, together with various cruisers from the First Squadron's Raiding Force, sortied from Brest to support the British on anti- raider patrols in the Atlantic Ocean, although no major clashes between surface forces took place. Also during this period, various vessels, including Lorraine, transported over 750 tons of French gold to safety in the United States. This wealth would be a down payment to what would become the "arsenal of democracy".

The French Navy also became involved in the Allies' ill-fated Norwegian campaign, whose naval strategy was designed to block the flow of Swedish iron to Germany. The laying of minefields by submarines and some destroyer raids highlighted this campaign. Naval units escorted convoys of auxiliaries transporting supplies to Norway, and the contre- torpilleur Bison was lost during an enemy air attack on one of these convoys. Another large destroyer, MailleBreze, was sunk by the accidental explosion of one of her own torpedoes. These incidents were just preliminaries to the real action yet to come.

Defeat and Debacle

May 10, 1940. Hitler invaded France and the Low Countries. The French Navy could do little to support the ground forces, although several warships bombarded advancing German troops near the coasts of Belgium and Holland. The three naval air squadrons based in northern France suffered severe casualties during attacks on enemy tank columns, a combat role for which the French airplanes and crews were poorly suited. The French played a major role during the historic evacuation at Dunkerque from May 30 through June 3. Nine destroyers, six torpedo boats, and nearly 300 other light craft lifted 44,352 men to England and took another 4,000 to the temporary safety of Cherbourg or Le Havre. One- fifth of the ships contributed by France to the rescue operation were destroyed, including seven destroyers and 30 naval auxiliary minesweepers.

As the German forces relentlessly advanced down the coast of France, naval ports were hastily evacuated and rendered unusable to the enemy by sinking block ships in the harbors and demolishing dock installations. Cherbourg fell on May 19. 74 of the 83 warships under the command of Admiral Moreau managed to escape from Brest before it surrendered on June 19; included among the survivors was the hastily completed Richelieu, which steamed to Dakar in French West Africa.

Additional vessels fled or were scuttled in the harbors of Lorient (captured June 19), La Pallice (June 22), Le Verdon (June 24), and Saint-Nazaire (the still incomplete Jean Bart barely made it to Casablanca from Saint- Nazaire in time). Admiral Gensoul's Raiding Force had most fortunately been sent to Mers-elKebir as early as April 27, and so escaped damage or loss at the hands of the Germans.

During the collapse of France, the only real offensive naval action was taken on June 14, when the heavy cruisers and destroyers of the Third Squadron sortied from Toulon to bombard Genoa, Italy, for minor results. Again, no major clashes took place with either the Germans or the Italians.

With the signing of the armistice on June 22, political events became of paramount importance. Britain had only agreed to let France seek a separate armistice with Hitler on the condition that the French Navy head immediately for British - controlled harbors. However, only a small number of warships complied with this directive.

For their part, the Germans promised not to incorporate the French fleet into an Axis navy, but would use French vessels only for coast guarding and minesweeping; a portion of the fleet would be assigned to the protection of French colonies abroad, as well. All other ships were to return to France for disarmament after June 24.

Justifiably mistrustful of their conquerors, the French negotiators asked that they be permitted to disarm the ships where they now lay in African waters, to avoid returning the warships to bases in occupied France. The strong British instructions to keep the vessels out of the hands of the enemy resulted in Admiral Darlan issuing secret orders to scuttle rather than surrender to all fleet units on May 28, June 20, and again on June 24.

The controversial actions began on June 24, when Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham at the British port of Alexandria in Egypt prohibited the French Force X from leaving that port. Force X, under command of Admiral Godfroy, included Lorraine and the cruisers Suffren, Duquesne, Tourville, and DuguayTrouin. These vessels were disarmed on July 4 and remained interned at Alexandria until joining the Free French Naval Forces early in 1943.

Nine days later, on July 3, the British quietly took over those French warships in the English ports of Plymouth, Portsmouth, Falmouth, and Sheerness. A total of 140 vessels were seized, including the battleships Paris and Courbet, eight destroyers, two torpedo boats, eight submarines, and 12 sloops. No resistance was offered by the sailors on board except on the giant submarine Surcouf at Plymouth, where some casualties were suffered by both sides.

The scene was set for one of the ugliest incidents of the war, at least from a political point of view: "Operation Catapult". At midmorning on July 3, Britain's Force II under the command of Admiral Sir James Somerville, consisting of the battlecruiser Hood, old battleships Valiant and Resolution, and aircraft carrier Ark Royal escorted by two cruisers and eleven destroyers, appeared outside the harbor at Mers-elKebir. Admiral Gensoul was presented with an ultimatum giving him several options: join forces with the British fleet; sail his four capital ships and supporting vessels to a British port or to the French West Indies for internment; scuttle; or be destroyed by the guns and planes of Force H. After hours of fruitless negotiations Somerville opened fire.

In just ten minutes of gunfire, Dunkerque was disabled, Bretagne sunk, Provence badly damaged, and the superdestroyer Mogador sunk; 1300 French sailors lost their lives. Strasbourg and the remaining five destroyers escaped unharmed to Toulon, while the seaplane carrier Commandant Teste received only slight damage. Subsequent air strikes from Ark Royal were intercepted by French fighters, but Dunkerque suffered further severe damage from torpedoes. This one- sided battle between alleged allies caused great ill will between the French and the British, but similar actions still lay in the future.

Vichy Fleet

As of the end of July 1940, major elements of the French fleet, now under control of the Vichy government, were based at four locations. Toulon, on the southern French coast, was home to Strasbourg, five cruisers, 13 destroyers, and three naval air squadrons. Seven destroyers and 12 submarines remained at Oran, with four air squadrons nearby. The still uncompleted Jean Bart was at Casablanca, together with one cruiser, nine destroyers, twelve submarines, and four air squadrons. Finally, Richelieu, light cruisers Gloire, Montcalm, and Georges Leygues, three contre-torpilleurs and seven or eight submarines were based at Dakar, with five squadrons from nearby airfields providing air cover.

On September 21, this last group was threatened by a British-Free French naval task force built around Ark Royal, Valiant, and Resolution from Force H. The outgunned Vichy ships won the Battle of Dakar by driving off their opponents, although Richelieu did suffer a hit from a British aerial torpedo. Thus far, Britain's attempts to persuade the French Navy to change sides had been less than successful.

North Africa, 1942

The American invasion of North Africa began in November of 1942. Despite negotiations, the responses of the Vichy French units in North Africa were unpredictable. Admiral Darlan issued orders to naval units prohibiting resistance against the Americans, but his commands were obeyed only in Algeria, were partially disregarded in Oran, and ignored completely by Admiral F.C. Michelier in Morocco.

On November 8, the U.S. Navy forces supporting landings at Fedhala, French Morocco, clashed with Michelier's vessels at Casablanca. Jean Bart was immobile in the harbor but had one functioning turret with four 15" guns. The light cruiser Primauguet, ten destroyers, eleven submarines, and numerous coastal defense batteries comprised the rest of the offensive power available to the French. Jean Bart was put out of action by five hits from the 16" guns of the U.S.S. Massachusetts.

Air strikes launched from the American aircraft carrier Ranger inflicted further heavy damage on Jean Bart and also destroyed three French subs. After this engagement, Michelier sent Primauguet, destroyer leaders Milan and Albatros, plus five L'Alcyon class destroyers to intercept the American landing operations at Fedhala. Although these vessels inflicted some damage on landing craft, they took a real beating at the hands of the American support forces, including Massachusetts and the cruisers Tuscaloosa, Brooklyn, Augusta, and Wichita, with the assistance of numerous destroyers and aircraft from the carrier Ranger.

At the cost of slight damage to Wichita, four French destroyers were sent to the bottom and all other ships except L'Alcyon were badly damaged. Eight submarines also attacked the Americans, achieving no hits while losing all except Orphee, Amazone, and Antiope. A later clash with light surface forces cost the French yet another destroyer damaged. Meanwhile, French aircraft attacking the landing parties were beaten off by planes from Ranger.

Nor was this the end of the French ordeal. That same day, elements of the Royal Navy again attacked Oran from the sea. They were resisted by a pair of submarines and three destroyers. The operation resulted in a British victory, while the French lost the destroyers Tramontane (sunk), Typhon (scuttled), and Eprevier (beached).

Admiral Darlan was committed to divorcing the remnants of the French fleet from the Vichy government. Concerned that the Germans might yet try to take control of the ships still in French harbors, on November 11, 1942, Darlan ordered the main fleet at Toulon to sail to sanctuaries in North Africa. Unfortunately, the 81 vessels then at Toulon (better than half the remaining French naval forces) did not execute the evacuation orders.

The next day, Darlan publicly refuted Marshal Petain as the ruler of France and appointed Admiral Giraud as commander-in-chief of France's armed forces. This act finally brought all French forces in Africa into the Allied camp. (Darlan's mistrust of Hitler's armistice pledges was not unfounded. Between the fall of France in June 1940 and the Italian surrender in September 1943, the Vichy government transferred to the Italian Navy the following French ships: two cruisers, ten destroyers, seven submarines, six corvettes, and eight minesweepers.)

The German occupation forces had in fact planned to seize the vessels anchored in Toulon on December 5. Political developments, however, precipitated an early attack, and on November 27, 1942, German soldiers approached the French ships in the harbor.

Refusing to surrender, Admiral de Laborde gave orders to scuttle, and most of the once-proud French fleet sank beneath the waves. Only four submarines escaped to join the Allies.

The losses included capital ships Provence, Strasbourg, and Dunkerque, seaplane carrier Commandant Teste, heavy cruisers Foch, Algerie, Dupleix, and Colbert, light cruisers Marseillaise, La Galissonniere, and Jean de Vienne,- 32 destroyers of all sizes; 16 submarines; and 18 smaller vessels. Four destroyers and the light cruisers Jean de Vienne and La Galissonniere later were salvaged and handed over to the Italian Navy, although the destroyers Tigre and Trombe ultimately returned to the Free French Naval Forces.

The magnitude of the disaster exceeded in number of ships, although not in tonnage, the mass suicide of the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919.

Under threat of a violent takeover, the submarines and small surface vessels under the command of Admiral Darrien at Bizerte in Tunisia were peacefully turned over to Germany. The units at Dakar remained loyal to Petain's Vichy government until the Allied campaign in North Africa was concluded, at which time the damaged battleship Richelieu and three light cruisers joined hands with their erstwhile opponents.

More French Navy of WWII

Introduction and Ship Specs
War: 1939 to 1942
Free French Navy and Conclusion