French battleships developed unusually tall silhouettes while other navies concentrated height in firing and control positions. Raising the ship could improve lines of sight, although elevating the whole structure was not the only way to achieve that. Opening salvos were already being fired at longer ranges than in the Napoleonic period, even when stated fighting ranges looked similar. Expectations of accuracy were changing too, without always being met in practice. The tactics later used at Tsushima developed alongside these technical changes rather than appearing only after the next generation of ships arrived.
Notable Point · 28:03-30:50
The battlehotel silhouette and the transitional firing problem
The tall French "battlehotel" form reflected an attempt to improve sightlines while naval gunnery and tactics were changing rapidly.