The counterfactual returns to the 1926 concept: a roughly 36,000-ton ship with twelve 12-inch guns in three quadruple turrets and a projected speed of 33 knots. France might have built two of them while offsetting their treaty tonnage by disposing of older capital ships. The scenario tests how size, speed, armament, and intended opponents influence classification, and suggests that the larger design might not have attracted the battlecruiser label. It also asks how Germany and Italy would have responded instead of treating the historical Dunkerque compromise as inevitable.
Notable Point · 1:00:01-1:00:35
What if France had built the 36,000-ton alternative?
The closing prompt asks how two 36,000-ton, twelve-gun French capital ships might have changed German and Italian planning - and whether anyone would call them battlecruisers.