The Terrible class shows that French capital-ship design and production were beginning to find a workable rhythm. The design was good enough for an initial pair to be followed by two more ships, an unusual sign of repeatability in a fleet prone to redesign. Terrible and Indomptable reached service before the remaining members were delayed into 1887 and 1888. Aube disrupted a recovering programme rather than an industry wholly incapable of building coherent classes.
Notable Point · 53:49-56:23
The Terrible class was restoring a repeatable build rhythm
A four-ship repeat of a promising design shows French capital-ship production recovering before Aube's pause extended later completions.