The hypothetical battle is deliberately set as two French ships against one German opponent because fleets do not deploy every hull at once. With three ships assigned to a task, one may be at sea, one preparing to sail, and one in maintenance. Four hulls give a commander a better chance of guaranteeing one ship deployed and another ready to replace or reinforce it. The example turns an individual ship comparison into a force-availability problem.
Notable Point · 30:03-32:35
Why a French squadron needs more than one ship
A two-versus-one simulation leads into the practical point that maintenance and readiness make a nominal squadron smaller at sea.