French Battleship Clemenceau

Clemenceau was the third of the Richelieu-class battleships, laid down on 17 January 1939 at the Salou No. 4 dock in Brest, directly after Richelieu had been launched from that dock earlier that day. Owing to the increased tensions with Germany, work on the ship was expedited and she was slated to be launched in 1941, with completion projected for late 1943. On 28 September 1939, work was halted temporarily as the French had begun large-scale mobilization for the war with Germany, which reduced the available workforce. The shipyard resumed work on 6 December during the “phony war”, but progress was slow and only 10 percent of the hull—a length of about 130 m —had been assembled by 10 June, when work again halted in the wake of German victories. When German forces approached Brest, the shipyard workers flooded the drydock. The ship was seized by the Germans, renamed Schlachtschiff R (Battleship R), with consideration briefly given to completing the ship, but shortages of materials and shipyard workers rendered it an unrealistic project. The hull was floated out in 1941 so the slipway could be used for other purposes. Allied bombers sank the hulk on 27 August 1944 and after the war, the navy placed the wreck for sale on 23 February 1948. There were no buyers, so the navy refloated the vessel to clear the harbor bottom and while under tow it broke in half and sank again. Salvors eventually purchased the wreck on 1 August 1951.