Joffre's attempt to replace Bearn's operating system

The Joffre class was faster and allowed aircraft to use its main elevators with wings spread, directly addressing some of Bearn's worst cycle-time problems. Its offset flight deck, two-level hangar arrangement, and elevator placement were meant to support a continuous flow of small aircraft groups rather than large concentrated strikes. The design borrowed assumptions from British operations without adopting the protected British carrier form, and its planned air group remained modest beside those of the leading carrier navies. France ordered the Dewoitine D.790 naval fighter and prototypes of a twin-engine attack aircraft derived from the Breguet Br.693. Both ideas arrived too late for the aircraft or doctrine to mature into an operational advantage.