In answer, he sought ships of high speed able to act against enemy commerce in a Force de Raid with the firepower to destroy convoy escorts and enemy raiders on a similar mission. He had drafted a proposed battle cruiser for the Naval War College in 1914.ĭespite the destruction of German naval power after the Great War, Durand-Viel believed that France would be out-numbered at sea in a future war. Where the early French dreadnoughts had been drafted by young naval architects without actual experience at sea, in the 1930’s French warship design was overseen by Vice Admiral Georges Durand-Viel, who had studied naval architecture when already in his 30’s (among other engineering subjects), yet also commanded a series of warships including the dreadnought Provence. Partly that had to do with the design team. When the French began work on a new generation of fast battleships, they once again went their own way in terms of design, and while they still lagged behind the world standard, this time the French managed to create much more effective warships. Those older ships show up in modernized form in Second Great War at Sea: The Cruel Sea, but there’s only so much modernization can do to overcome poor design. Rejecting outside influences, the French went their own way and ended up a generation behind everyone else. Though the latter two looked impressive at first glance, none of these were particularly good fighting ships. Before and during the First World War, the French Navy (Marine Nationale) built, ordered or designed four classes of dreadnoughts.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |