<P> The Attack on Mers - el - Kébir ( 3 July 1940 ) also known as the Battle of Mers - el - Kébir , was part of Operation Catapult . The operation was a British naval attack on French Navy ships at the base at Mers El Kébir on the coast of French Algeria . The bombardment killed 1,297 French servicemen , sank a battleship and damaged five ships , for a British loss of five aircraft shot down and two crewmen killed . </P>
where was the french fleet sunk in ww2
the base at Mers El Kébir on the coast of French Algeria