Q&A · 9:23:20-9:25:10

Where Mogador might serve after the fall of France

The Royal Navy could use Mogador in the Mediterranean, while the US Navy would gain too little from one unusual destroyer to justify a political fight with the Free French.

Question

Where would Britain or the United States deploy Mogador if either gained access to her after France fell?

Short answer

Britain would use her in the Mediterranean, while the United States would probably leave her with the French rather than spend political capital on one ship.

Notes

The Royal Navy would have an immediate theater for Mogador in the Mediterranean after France fell. The United States faced a different calculation because obtaining the ship would mean taking it from French control rather than merely assigning an available hull. One destroyer would not justify the political capital needed for a dispute with the Free French and Charles de Gaulle. Mogador is therefore useful in British operational terms but unlikely to become an American acquisition.