The discussion turns from a game announcement to the real French battlecruiser concepts completed in 1913. Durand-Viel's second design displaced about 27,500 tons, used mixed-firing boilers and four shafts, and aimed for roughly 27 knots. Its main battery placed eight 370 mm guns in two quadruple turrets, backed by twenty-eight 138.6 mm guns and four torpedo tubes. To keep the same displacement while replacing the earlier design's 340 mm weapons, the designer reduced belt thickness and armor coverage. The design provides a compact example of the capital-ship triangle: heavier guns at fixed size must be paid for in protection, speed, or endurance.
Notable Point · 3:03:02-3:05:46
Durand-Viel's heavier-gunned battlecruiser compromise
The 1913 French concept traded armor from an earlier 340 mm design to carry eight 370 mm guns without increasing its 27,500-ton displacement.