The Courbet class carried a thinner maximum belt than HMS Dreadnought despite adding another turret to its broadside. The Normandie class then proposed twelve 13.4-inch guns in three quadruple turrets. Quadruple mounts concentrated a great deal of machinery and risk in technology that was still immature in 1913. The impressive gun count concealed weaknesses in protection, speed, and mechanical complexity.
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Courbet and Normandie compound French battleship compromises
The French bonus examples show how modest protection and ambitious quadruple turrets could leave new battleships behind contemporary standards.