Hoche, Amiral Baudin, and Formidable each took roughly ten years to reach service. Earlier French projects show that yards could complete capital ships in about five to six years when work continued with greater consistency. The outliers therefore reflect disrupted rhythm and policy rather than an absolute lack of French industrial ability. This comparison gives a concrete measure of how a ministerial pause could extend a programme long after the political decision itself.
Notable Point · 56:23-57:28
Hoche, Amiral Baudin, and Formidable took roughly ten years
The three ships' decade-long paths to service expose the cost of Aube's pause against France's earlier five-to-six-year construction baseline.