The York class is the Royal Navy's closest equivalent to Bearn because the effort to make a cheaper, more numerous cruiser defeated itself. A concentrated all-forward heavy-cruiser arrangement could have used treaty displacement more efficiently. The apparent savings produced a less flexible and less useful fleet unit.
Chapter · 2:53:54-2:57:10
York class: a cheaper cruiser that delivered less
The York class was intended as an economical cruiser but became costlier, less numerous, slower, and less heavily armed than the concept promised.