French redesign versus an Italian Caracciolo programme

The French choices are presented as difficult: their best response may be to pause, abandon the Normandie and perhaps the Lyon-class direction, and invest in infrastructure rather than rush a poor design. Later Dunkerque- and Richelieu-class work demonstrates that France could produce excellent ships once it developed a suitable answer. Italy, by contrast, could use its allowance to complete four Francesco Caracciolo-class hulls and later add four new vessels. Finishing ships for which material had already been purchased would preserve employment and industrial capability more effectively than scrapping them. If a Caracciolo reached service first, it could become the reference point for the fast-battleship era and push Britain toward 28-knot successors. A 28-knot Italian battle line would also pressure the Royal Navy to avoid slow new designs, while standardizing on fifteen-inch guns could simplify Italian logistics.