None of the members of the class had been completed by the outbreak of World War II. was finished shortly before the French defeat in the Battle of France, while was hurriedly prepared to be ready to go to sea during the campaign. Both vessels fled to French colonies in Africa: "Richelieu" steamed to Dakar and "Jean Bart" went to Casablanca. Work on "Clemenceau" and "Gascogne" stopped after the Germans occupied France. In mid-1940, "Richelieu" was attacked twice and damaged by British forces attempting to coerce the crew to defect to Free France, while "Jean Bart" was badly damaged by American forces during Operation Torch in November 1942. After the French African colonies shifted to Free French control, "Richelieu" was taken to the United States to be repaired and modernized, while "Jean Bart" was not completed. "Richelieu" saw active service with the British Home Fleet in early 1944 before being transferred to the Eastern Fleet later that year. There, she took part in numerous operations against Japanese forces in the Indian Ocean. She was present for the Japanese surrender of Singapore at the end of the war.