Dupleix's four twin 90 mm mounts left room for a dense 1941 light anti-aircraft refit, including a large collection of quad, triple, and twin 13.2 mm mounts. That made her one of the better-armed sisters by the time of the Toulon scuttling. During Operation Vado in June 1940, she and Colbert bombarded the Genoa area, but roughly half the French shells fell into the sea and little damage resulted. The poor result exposes the difference between a strong paper armament and effective wartime gunnery and training. Her prewar use as a filming location for Veille d'armes preserved extensive images of the ship and its procedures. The film supplies an unusually detailed visual record alongside the ship's disappointing combat performance.
Chapter · 1:00:25-1:05:31
Dupleix: modernization, Operation Vado, and a naval film role
Dupleix combined the class's heaviest late anti-aircraft outfit with disappointing combat gunnery off Genoa and unusually detailed screen time in Veille d'armes.