In place of the superfiring main turret, three secondary turrets, and the 90 mm mounts, she would receive thirty /38 caliber dual-purpose guns in fifteen twin turrets. These would be supplemented by sixty-four Bofors guns in quadruple mounts and fifty Oerlikon cannon in single mounts. New fire control equipment was to be installed, including US-built directors and a Mk 4 fire control radar. The second proposal was less ambitious; the aircraft facilities were abandoned in favor of seventeen twin 5 in turrets, while the 40 mm battery would be increased to twenty quadruple mounts. Horne rejected both proposals on 18 August and Fenard responded with a proposal to complete the ship as an aircraft carrier, which Horne also refused. On 8 December, Fenard appealed directly to Horne's superior, Admiral Ernest King, the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations, but King informed Fenard in March 1944 that the US Navy had no interest in diverting critical wartime resources to complete the ship. By that time in the war, the US Navy had more than enough battleships and aircraft carriers to fulfill its operational needs and moreover, American shipyards could not easily reproduce the parts necessary to complete the ship according to any of the proposals; the US had only agreed to repair and modernize Richelieu, which had been in a more complete state than Jean Bart, after significant pressure from Britain. Jean Bart instead remained in Casablanca, where Free French authorities had already set about readying the ship for sea. Options to complete the ship without US assistance were limited; the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon in November 1942 wrecked much of the shipyard facilities, and Brest would not be liberated until September 1944. The French inquired about the possibility of taking the ship to Gibraltar, but the shipyard there was overwhelmed with more critical projects. Nevertheless, the shipyard workers in Casablanca had readied the ship for sea trials by September 1943. During these operations, she was accompanied by the destroyers and and three US destroyers. Though her hull was still badly deformed from the damage incurred during Operation Torch and had not been cleaned of biofouling, she reached a speed of . For the remainder of the war, the vessel was used as a training ship. Completion With the end of the war in sight by early 1945, the French naval command began to make