A Bearn, in this comparison, is a functioning ship built with good intentions whose design features obstruct its intended role. The category therefore depends on the relationship between the design and its purpose. Bearn's lifts, machinery, speed, and hangar arrangements repeatedly frustrated carrier operations. Treaty constraints offer a partial defence of the lightly protected Duquesne-class cruisers, which had to fit a 10,000-ton limit. Bearn displaced about 22,500 tons standard against a stated conversion allowance of 33,000 tons, with Lexington and Saratoga providing the comparison. Its compromises cannot be explained by having reached that ceiling.
Chapter · 11:44-15:10
What makes a warship a Bearn?
Bearn defines a test of well-intended features that obstruct a ship's mission, with unused treaty tonnage distinguishing its compromises from those of French treaty cruisers.