Much of Châteaurenault's design was defensible, but its one-off status undermined the concept. Repeating a central design would require French investment in infrastructure and enough institutional control to prevent every constructor from introducing incompatible changes. Her intended mission also exposed the absence of torpedoes: a commerce raider needed some chance to escape an opponent too powerful to fight with guns alone. With an armored deck only 40 to 100 millimeters thick, she could not rely on protection to buy much time. Standardization kept ships supportable, while a torpedo could create a chance to disengage.
Notable Point · 22:16-24:42
One-off design culture and the missing torpedo escape weapon
A workable commerce raider required standardized construction, support infrastructure, and torpedoes for encounters with opponents too powerful to fight with guns alone.