The Bearn conversion turns on machinery left from the unfinished Normandie-class battleships. A viewer argues that France reused a mixed propulsion plant because the all-turbine installation planned for Bearn had never been purchased. In the response, turbines do not impose a fixed range penalty because their design and the economical use of multiple shafts could be adjusted. The long conversion also allowed 1920s machinery development to affect the available choices. The exchange links claims about conversion economy with the propulsion decisions inside a battleship hull.
Notable Point · 24:48-26:17
Bearn's turbines, range, and conversion economy
A propulsion comment examines whether reusing machinery for Bearn really imposed the severe range penalty sometimes claimed.