Before the Washington Naval Treaty, France planned to convert two Normandie-class battleships into experimental carriers. Two ships would have let the navy test concepts while supporting imperial policing and reducing the effect of maintenance or a breakdown. The treaty gave France the same carrier ratio as Italy despite its Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts and global empire. Postwar finances also limited what France could build, so the treaty settlement narrowed an already difficult set of choices. Béarn's mixture of turbines and reciprocating engines then limited it to about 21.5 knots, leaving too little speed and too little carrier depth for the roles France wanted aviation to perform.
Chapter · 9:30-15:21
Béarn, treaty constraints, and a missed carrier force
France planned two experimental Normandie-class conversions, but treaty allocation, weak postwar finances, and Béarn's machinery left the navy with one slow carrier.