An item reported that during a meeting between Marshal Petain and de admirals Leahy and Darlan at 6:00 P.M. 11 December the latter stated that the French ships lying in French colonial harbours in the Western Hemisphere were disarmed and no intention to depart. The J.I.C. commented that is was not proven that the ships lying at Martinique were disarmed. This were until the night of 11 December the Emile Bertin (1), Bearn (2) and Barfleur (3); the latter departed then.
Notes
1. Émile Bertin, fast light cruiser, preceded by Jeanne d’Arc succeeded by La Galissonière-class, laid down by Chantiers de Penhoët on 18 August 1931, launched on 9 May 1933, commissioned on 28 January 1935, decommissioned in October 1951, stricken on 27 October 1959 and broken up in 1961.
2. Béarn, laid down at the yard of Société des Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranée, La Seyne, France on 10 January 1914 as a battleship of the Normandie-class, launched in April 1920, rebuild as a carrier between 1923-1927, although already in October 1920 an airplane successfully landed, commissioned in May 1927, stricken on 21 March 1967 and finally broken up in Italy. Although she joined the Allied forces was she never used as an carrier but as an aircraft transport.
3. Armed merchant cruiser X19 Barfleur, launched by Burmeister&Wain, Copenhagen, Denmark in 1938, commissioned in November 1939, in 1944 armed transport X2.
Source
Map Room Papers (Roosevelt Administration) mr0422a. U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee. Daily summary No. 2 Dated 12 December 1941.
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