The competitive design sequence runs from Dante Alighieri to the French Courbet class and then to the Conte di Cavour class. The Courbets carried twelve guns but could bring only ten to a broadside, while their wing turrets introduced different firing geometry. The Italian response concentrated every turret on the centerline, producing a 13-gun broadside with wide arcs on either beam. The Regia Marina was seeking a qualitative advantage because it could not simply outbuild France.
Chapter · 0:35-5:34
Italy answers France in the dreadnought design race
The Conte di Cavour class is introduced as Italy's 13-gun answer to French Courbet-class battleships and their ten-gun broadside.