Their secondary armament was to have consisted of fifteen /55 Mle 1930 guns mounted in five Mle 1936 triple turrets, three of which were arranged on the rear superstructure with the other two amidships (though neither "Richelieu" or "Jean Bart" were ever fitted with the amidships turrets). The turrets were modifications of the low-angle Mle 1930 turrets used in the of light cruisers, with improved elevation to 90 degrees to allow them to engage aerial targets. The turrets suffered from serious problems that limited their effectiveness, including slow elevation and training speeds and a tendency to jam when elevated at angles greater than 45 degrees. As a result, they could only be used for long-range barrage fire against low-flying torpedo bombers. When used against surface targets, the guns had a range of . They were supplied with a total of 3,600 semi-AP and high explosive rounds, the former for surface targets and the latter for use against aircraft.