Ship efficiency rests on industrial foundations

An efficient treaty warship depends on more than a clever drawing-board arrangement. British and American designers could draw on deeper maritime infrastructure and accumulated investment, which helped their engines achieve better power-to-weight results. French designers could theoretically have bought foreign machinery, but institutional preference kept the Marine Nationale working within domestic capabilities. France could produce a good cruiser within its own industrial base, but pursuing 34 knots made the displacement penalty more severe and narrowed the room for other qualities.