The French Naval General Staff wanted a second aviation ship but lacked an inexpensive hull suitable for carrier conversion. Studies ranged from an ocean liner and freighter to an armored cruiser and a purpose-built vessel, with speed, displacement, and catapult limits eliminating easy options. The surviving concept combined aircraft transport, maintenance facilities, crew accommodation, catapult-launched scouts and fighters, and crane-launched seaplanes. In peace it could support overseas squadrons, while in war it could repair shipborne aircraft or deploy aircraft for a specific attack. Keeping the ship near 10,000 tons also sought to avoid consuming France's limited Washington Treaty carrier allowance.
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Commandant Teste as a mobile aviation base
French planners turn a second fleet-carrier requirement into a treaty-conscious seaplane transport that could support overseas squadrons, repairs, and forward attack missions.