France ordered the Danton class in 1908, after HMS Dreadnought had entered service and Britain had started expanding its all-big-gun battle fleet. The French ships retained a mixed battery of four 12-inch and twelve 9.4-inch guns, with only six of the smaller weapons available on a broadside. At 19.25 knots, they were about two knots slower than Dreadnought and much slower than the Invincible-class battlecruisers. They did not commission until 1911. The class therefore shows both a conceptual and an operational lag: France committed to new pre-dreadnoughts after the competition's technical baseline had already changed.
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The Danton class reveals France's dreadnought delay
France's 1908 Danton-class order is contrasted with the faster all-big-gun ships already entering British and American programs.