"Massachusetts", the third ship of the class, was laid down on 20 July 1939 at the Fore River Shipyard of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 23 September 1941 and commissioned on 12 May 1942. After a shakedown cruise, the battleship departed Casco Bay, Maine on 24 October 1942 to support the Allied invasion of Africa, Operation Torch, as flagship of the Western Naval Task Force. Along with the heavy cruisers and and four destroyers, "Massachusetts" sailed to Casablanca on the evening of 7 November. The incomplete French battleship , missing one of her quadruple 380 mm/45 caliber gun turrets, was in the harbor, having traveled there in 1940 to escape the German invasion of France. American planes were fired upon and two French submarines were spotted leaving the harbor; at 07:03 the coastal battery at El Hank opened fire on "Massachusetts". It was mistakenly assumed that the gunfire had come from "Jean Bart", so the order to neutralize the battleship was given. "Massachusetts" hit "Jean Bart" five times, and in the process disabled the one active main battery turret. "Massachusetts" also severely damaged the destroyer , which subsequently had to be beached. Four merchant ships and a floating crane were also destroyed.