https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/B%C3%A9arnEarly.jpg
Post war she looked very good as well and Felix mentions Bearn assisted in France's re possession of Indochina but did not launch any missions with up-to-date (US) aircraft (unfortunately for the modeler), and was only used as a transport.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Bearn_Oct_45.jpg
So (for me) the most attractive choice would be c. 1939.
http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/ships/fr/bearn-400/bearn_review.htm
One of the major changes done the Bearn in his 1935 refit was the addition of an enclosed level under the bow flight deck overhang. Parts for this modification are not included in the kit so if you wish to build a post 1935 version of the Bearn, this addition will have to be scratchbuilt. If you don’t want to go through the trouble, you can build a post-1928 version but you will have to sand down the forward bank of cooling vents on the sponson and the vents on the funnel, as these were added in 1935. Frankly I am not sure of how difficult it would be to add the enclosed area to the forward part of the ship. If you feel that you can do it, I would recommend it since it would make a more visually striking model. The additional vents really stood out and it would be a shame to remove them. The omission of the enclosed area is really the one design flaw with this kit, but it is not one that is insurmountable.
Fine by me, I like silver--or blue gray--wings.
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