Preserving Béarn would at least have given naval students a physical example of an unsuccessful carrier arrangement. The criticism goes beyond the ship's disappointing performance because versions of its design logic influenced Italian, German, and Russian thinking. A failed ship can still provide historical evidence about how ideas circulate between navies. Its technical influence matters even when the original design is remembered as a warning.
Notable Point · 1:18:21-1:19:55
Béarn as a warning in interwar carrier design
France's first aircraft carrier is treated as a useful lesson in what not to copy, especially because related design ideas spread to other interwar navies.