Courbet served as an anti-aircraft battery and accommodation ship until March 1941, then supported Highball and other bouncing-bomb trials. It later became part of the protection for the Mulberry harbours, where German crewed torpedoes struck it. Paris spent much of the war housing Polish naval personnel. Their twelve-inch guns left open the possibility of reactivation if the naval situation became sufficiently desperate. Such a return to service would probably have required heavy losses first, so useful employment of the hulls did not depend on restoring them as front-line battleships.
Notable Point · 13:41-15:03
Courbet and Paris support bomb trials, accommodation and reserve firepower
Old battleships retain practical value through accommodation, weapons trials and harbour protection, with reactivation held as a remote possibility.