May 30th, 1941
London - A meeting of the Joint British-French Technical Staff is dedicated to to industrial planning and the purchase of naval and air equipment. On the American side are present the American military attaché in London, a representative of the US BuShips, another of the USBuAer and a personal adviser to President Roosevelt, Mr. Harry Hopkins.
This meeting leads to the formulation by the Allies of "Joint British-French Requirements" (JBFR) submitted to their overseas supplier (see below).
At the top of the "shopping list" of both Allies, landing craft and escort destroyers.
The difficult question of what to do with the battleship
Jean-Bart is the second major naval topic of this meeting.
General Mouchard then presents a memorandum describing the plan to re-equip the French air forces: the Armée de l'Air, but also the Aéronavale, reorganized since the
the beginning of the year.
Finally, far from eavesdroppers, the special relationship between the French and American forces is obviously mentioned.
I) The three Joint British-French Naval Requirements
- The first naval JBFR was for a "
fast ship for commando attack", a 50 m (153 ft) vessel capable of carrying up to 200 men and equipment. This requirement was based on the experience of operations in Corsica, Sardinia and the Aegean Sea. It gave birth to the EDI (Infantry Landing Craft) or LCI(L), and its variants built on the same hull.
The fire support variant will be armed with two 40 mm single mounts, four 20 mm and two 120 mm mortars of French design, is called EDI-Fire or LCI(S). It will provide both anti-aircraft defence and indirect fire support (the 120 mm mortar can fire either a 16 kg projectile at 6,000 m, or a special demolition munition of 20.8 kg at 2,600 m).
The specific anti-aircraft variant, called EDI-AA or LCI(F), will carry no less than three double 40 mm gun carriages.
A light anti-submarine escort variant, EDI-ASM, was also planned.
In all cases, production dates and rates were ambitious; plans were to be finalized in July and deliveries were to begin before the end of the year.
.........
- The second naval JBFR was for
a tank transport ship capable of carrying 5 medium tanks or up to 160 tons of cargo and operating in common with the previous model. It was to be labelled EDC or LCT.
But this model was finally judged too light and, a few months later, the decision was taken to build a heavier ship, the EDIC (Engin de Débarquement d'Infanterie et Chars), or LCT-I. Also built by an American shipyard, this type of ship had a length of 72 m on the waterline (226 feet 6 inches) and 75 m (233 feet 8 inches) overall, with a width of 11 m (34 feet 6 inches). Displacing 610 tons when empty and 893 fully loaded, she could cross the Atlantic and reach the Mediterranean theater by its own means. With two diesels, she could make at least 15 knots and carry either eight Sav-41 tanks, or 5 new British infantry tanks called "Churchill".
.........
- The third JBFR was for a "
second rank destroyer", labelled DE and destined for the role of ASW escort (for the Royal Navy) or ASW/AA escort (for the French Navy). The French General Staff favoured a model as fast as the British "
Hunt" class, but a slower model was suitable for the Royal Navy. The American BuShips did not want the DE, considering that conventional DDs could be built faster, but the project was directly approved by Roosevelt. Production was to begin before the end of 1942.
In order to satisfy the needs of the French Navy before that date, the American government accepted that in addition to the delivery of 4 DD of the "
Farragut" class (decided on March 28th 1941), the construction for France of 8 "
Benson" class DDs (hull numbers FDD-1 to 8), which could be delivered faster than the DEs. However, this commitment was not yet officially confirmed.
II) The case of the Jean-Bart
One of the battleship's two quadruple 380 mm turrets was conspicuous by its absence. At the time of its escape from Saint-Nazaire, only the A turret was already mounted. The guns of the B turret were to be loaded onto the cargo ship
Mécanicien Principal Carvin, but the crane broke after the loading of the first two guns. The two remaining guns were rendered unusable and abandoned on the dock. The freighter left just in time to escape the German air raids.* On the other hand, some of the materials for the
Clemenceau, which was being built in Brest, had been sent to Toulon in time, including the eight 380 mm guns, which were evacuated to North Africa. But the turret itself was still missing...
The French naval staff made three proposals.
(a) Complete the battleship as planned with four of the Clemenceau's 380 mm guns. But who could build a turret for these guns? The French arsenals in North Africa were unable to do so, the British were overworked and the Americans were very reluctant, while they were in the midst of building their own modern battleships and they preferred standardized constructions (not to mention the problem of conversion of units of measurement). Moreover, the Richelieu needs spare parts to replace the elements that had deteriorated during its trials and later during the confrontation with the
Bismarck. In fact, a problem with the design of the shells meant that two tubes of 380 had to be replaced. The completion of the Jean-Bart in the form planned at the beginning was thus discarded**.
...
(b) To complete the ship as a kind of heavy support and AA defense ship for convoys and amphibious operations. The A turret, stripped of its 380, would be armed with 340 mm recovered from the
Provence (under repair after the fight against the
Vittorio-Veneto), and twelve double 5in/38 turrets would be installed (5 on each side and two in the place of the location of the B turret) with six Mk.37 firing lines. This conversion, inspired by the experience of operations in Corsica, would take 18 to 21 months. The BuShips was not too enthusiastic, as there was already a strong demand for double 5-inch turrets and Mk.37 pipes. The French Navy staff was not very enthusiastic either, because this solution implied the retirement of the
Provence. It is true that the old battleship needed at least nine months of work.
...
(c) Complete the ship as an aircraft carrier, using her widowed turret as a source of parts for the Richelieu. According to a first drawing, 48 to 54 planes could be transported, if the third elevator was mounted laterally. The completion time in this form was to be two years. The BuShips officer was skeptical: for him it was a waste of tonnage, because one of the future "
Essex" class carriers, much smaller, could carry up to 80 aircraft. On the other hand, the British delegation, comparing the result with the "
Illustrious" class carriers, was less critical: the 150 mm of armour on the main deck could ensure a remarkable protection against dive bombers, even if the flight deck itself was not to be armored. Moreover, having - and for good reason - the same performances, the CV
Jean-Bart could be efficiently paired with the BB
Richelieu, providing it with air cover and ASM support.
It was decided... to postpone the decision on this point until July.
III) The re-equipment of the Armée de l'Air
The Armée de l'Air was to be restructured around 10 Fighter Squadrons (including one with four groups and one EC sent to Indochina), one Squadron (with two groups) specialized in Reconnaissance and 9 Bombardment Squadrons, most of the squadrons comprising 3 Groups of 20 aircraft. Twelve independent Groups were to ensure tactical reconnaissance and cooperation with the Army. This plan thus implied the existence of 72 operational groups, i.e. no less than 1,440 aircraft, not counting the reserve, training and transport (two Squadrons of four Groups each in charge of transport and communications). This was an expansion of almost 50 percent compared to what existed at the end of the summer of 1940.
...
The most critical problem was the acquisition of an air superiority fighter capable of replacing the D-520 and the Hawk-81 and 87. The British delegation had agreed to provide enough Spitfire Vs for a squadron, but the British industry could do no more.
The basic version of North American's new and very promising prototype, the NA-73X, already ordered by the RAF, was to be ordered as an interim low-level superiority fighter, but the French government, aware of the limitations of the Allison engine, was willing to advance the money needed to increase Rolls-Royce's production in the United States in order to obtain enough Merlin two-stage compression engines (Merlin 61 and 65) to equip the "improved North American fighter" with this high-altitude engine.
North American's Inglewood plant had to expand to set up a parallel production line for the Merlin-powered variant of the new fighter, with deliveries to begin no more than 12 months after the first flight of the prototypes. If the government decided to purchase the modified aircraft as a standard USAAC fighter, the French government would be reimbursed.
In addition, the French Air Force will soon receive Bell single-seaters (P-39), as well as interim equipment before the entry into service of the new Republic model (ex-Seversky), designated P-47.
...
The twin-engine fighter CE (2nd Squadron) was a special case with its four Groups: two would be re-equipped with Beaufighter IFs for night hunting and two would be re-equipped with the "new twin-engine long-range Lockheed" (the P-38).
The Long Range Reconnaissance Squadron (33rd ER) was to be equipped with a special reconnaissance version of the same aircraft (F-5) and the new twin-engine De Havilland (Mosquito).
...
Of the nine Bomber Squadrons, four were to be re-equipped with the North-American medium bomber (B-25), two EBs continued to use the Douglas DB-73 and three EBs (180 aircraft), already using Consolidated heavy bombers, being re-equipped with an improved variant (Consolidated model 34 / B-24D).
...
The twelve independent Army Cooperation Groups, formed for tactical support under the name of Assault and Observation Groups (AOG), were to be equipped with either the successor to the Martin Maryland, the Martin-187, or the new Vultee dive bomber.
...
Finally, the eight Transport Groups were to receive militarized DC-3s, Lockheed 18 Lodestar (R30 in the US Navy and C-56 in the USAAC) and some Consolidated model-32 (LB-30, B-24C) converted for long-range transport.
...
A massive recruitment and training effort had to be made, in accordance with this expansion plan. After a first selection in North Africa, the future pilots would be sent to the United States for initial and advanced training, returning for operational training in Meknes (for the fighter) or Rabat-Salé (for the bomber).
IV) Flying sailors
The Aéronavale then included four fighter squadrons (AC1 to 4), three of which were equipped with the Grumman G-36A (total: 44 aircraft), the AC4 flying on Maryland (and the last Potez 631) while waiting for its re-equipment with Martin 167 Mod (the Bristol Beaufighter was hoped for but no credible schedule could be obtained from the manufacturer). The three bomber squadrons were the AB1 (12 Martin 167 Maryland), the AB2 (SBD-1) and the AB3, a reserve squadron equipped with a mix of SBD-1s and old SBC-4s. New Grumman fighters (F4F-4) and Douglas dive bombers (SBD-2/3) had been ordered, but their delivery could not take place before the fall of 1941. The fighter and bomber units had been participating since April 1941 in the infiltration program with pilots and crews from the US Navy or the Marines.
The three fighter squadrons and the AB2 were deployed on the British aircraft carriers HMS
Eagle and HMS
Formidable to compensate for the FAA's shortage of carrier-based fighters (at the end of May 1941, the
Formidable carried only 12 Fulmars) and dive bombers. Another land-based bomber squadron, the AB4, was to be established in the spring of 1942; at that time, AB1 and AB4 would be equipped with the new B-25, capable of attacking with torpedoes. This prediction should prove too optimistic: the B-25 "Marine" (actually, the PBJ-1D) would enter service only in mid-1943 and while waiting for it, the AB3 would fly on DB-73. On the other hand, two other SBD squadrons would be created during 1942.
The torpedoing forces included two squadrons (T1 and T2) still flying on Laté 298 seaplanes and two squadrons (T3 and T4) equipped with Fairey Swordfish. The Laté 298 was to be replaced by the Bristol Beaufort, but at the end of 1941, the Beaufort not being available, it would be replaced by the N-3PB. The units equipped with Swordfish were to receive the new Grumman torpedo bomber in the spring of 1942 - again, the reequipment would take about a year to finish. At that time, a new squadron capable to operate on aircraft carriers was to be created to equip the new light aircraft carriers built by the American shipyards at the end of 1941.
The six reconnaissance units included two squadrons equipped with large PBY-5 seaplanes purchased before June 1940 (E2 and E3), two squadrons equipped with Lockheed Hudson (E1 and E5), the E4 mixing three Laté 302s and four PBY-5s and the E6 (based in Dakar) with two Laté 521/3, one Laté 611 and four P2Y-3***.
The French government had acquired Sunderlands and PBYs to arm new squadrons (notably in the Indian Ocean, Indochina and the West Indies) and to re-equip the old ones as well as Whitleys to ensure ASW patrols from Casablanca. Coastal reconnaissance units and flotillas based on cruisers are then equipped with some Loire 130Ms, Vought Kingfishers and Grumman JRF-5s (Goose).
V) Infiltrators and volunteers
The validity of the principle of American infiltration had been demonstrated in operations and this method was to be continued. In addition to the regular participation of volunteer crews in the operations of French units, USAAC crews would be authorized to visit the two operational training centers.
At the same time, the French government agreed to the deployment at Hanoi/Hoa Bin airfield of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), which had just been created by a secret presidential decree. Personnel and aircraft were to use French airfields in northern Indochina to train before moving on to China (Kunming being only 540 km north of Hanoi). If Indochina was attacked by Japanese forces before the AVG was deployed in China, this fighter force would be available to defend that territory in support of the CG which was also to be deployed there.
* It also carried three prototypes of heavy tanks, notably the Renault B1-ter, which were later sent to the United States, where they proved to be very useful for the development of the future American (and French) tanks.
** The compatibility between the British 15-inch (381 mm) and the French 380 mm, which dated back to the First World War, made it possible to consider giving up unused guns to the Royal Navy. Even after the problems of the
Richelieu, the French Navy still had ten of these monstrous tubes. This currency proved to be valuable in the difficult context of a war to be fought with a "broken back". Four of these guns equipped the famous
Vanguard, the last battleship of the Royal Navy. This was the first time that "first rank ships" of the Royal Navy used French guns that had not been captured. At the signing the agreement, Sir Dudley Pound earnestly requested that no one mention the fact in Trafalgar Square, lest the statue of Nelson should hear it and fall from its column.
*** In 1940, the French government had acquired these second-hand aircraft, which the US Navy was beginning to replace with the PBY.
Armée de l'Air Supermarine Spitfire Mk V, 1941
