After the first eight revised ironclads, the proposed French programme skips Hoche and develops a redesigned Marceau group. Straight sides, paired 13.4-inch guns fore and aft, and a substantial secondary battery would make those ships an early pre-dreadnought generation. Another eight ships would bring the core force to sixteen modern capital ships, although two transitional designs might be needed between the groups. A later generation would use four 12-inch guns and a more conventional secondary arrangement. The aim is an earlier equivalent of Charlemagne with straight sides, keeping French construction broadly competitive with Britain.
Notable Point · 3:18:53-3:22:01
A repeatable French path to pre-dreadnoughts
A second group of eight redesigned capital ships would lead France toward an earlier Charlemagne-style pre-dreadnought.