The prewar inventory includes two fast Dunkerque-class battleships and seven Courbet- and Bretagne-class battleships. It also counts seven heavy cruisers, eleven light cruisers, 32 contre-torpilleurs, 38 torpilleurs d'escadre, and 83 submarines. The cruiser survey names the Duquesne and Suffren classes, Algérie, Jeanne d'Arc, Émile Bertin, and the minelayer Pluton. The force mixes modern striking units with escorts, patrol vessels, and second-line capital ships. A seaplane tender also offers the ability to move into position and establish a fixed base. France could not dominate at sea alone, but this fleet was large enough to alter either coalition's plans.
Notable Point · 18:33-19:16
The scale of the French fleet in 1939
The 1939 survey counts two fast battleships, seven older battleships, eighteen cruisers, seventy destroyers, and eighty-three submarines.