Q&A · 1:49:17-1:49:54

Was the Edgar Quinet class a French battlecruiser?

Speed, gun caliber, armor, and displacement keep the Edgar Quinet class on the armored-cruiser side of the classification line.

Armoured Cruisers Battlecruisers Edgar Quinet Class Armoured Cruisers French Navy Ship Classification

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Question

Was the Edgar Quinet class the closest French equivalent to a battlecruiser?

Short answer

No; it is classified as a large armored cruiser rather than a battlecruiser.

Notes

The answer tests the label against the ship's characteristics: about 23 knots, 7.6-inch guns, a six-inch belt, and roughly 13,000 tons. Those figures make the class a large and relatively fast armored cruiser, but not a ship combining battleship-scale guns with cruiser speed in the battlecruiser sense.