A French battleship is compared with a German Kaiser Friedrich III-class design from the same period. The French ship appears heavily armed, but its mixed battery and dispersed gun levels complicate the practical concentration and control of fire. The German ship's six 11-inch guns offer naval officers a more coherent threat despite the smaller calibre. The comparison marks the point at which British attention begins moving away from France and toward the growing Imperial German Navy.
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German battleships replace France as the planning problem
A comparison of French and German battleships shows why British planners increasingly regarded Germany, not France, as the more coherent naval challenge.