French battlecruiser proposals In the years before the outbreak of World War I in 1914 , the French Navy considered several proposals for battlecruiser s . The Navy issued specifications for a battlecruiser design to complete part of the 28 capital ship s to be built by 1920 . Three designs , one by P . Gille and two by Lieutenant Durand - Viel , were completed in 1913 . All three designs were similar to contemporary battleship designs , specifically the , which introduced a quadruple gun turret for the main battery , which was adopted for all three proposals . The first two called for the same gun used on all French dreadnoughts , though the third proposed a much more powerful gun . Though the design studies were complete , the French Navy did not authorize or begin construction of any battlecruisers before the start of the war . Background . In the Naval Law of 30 March 1912 , the French Navy called for a total force of 20 capital ship s to be built by 1920 . The Technical Branch subsequently issued a set of somewhat vague requirements for battlecruiser designs . The requirements stipulated a displacement of , a speed of , an armament of eight guns , and a crew of not more than 1 , 200 officers and enlisted men . Numerous proposals were submitted to the Technical Branch , but only two , prepared by P . Gille , a naval engineer overseeing the construction of the , and then Lieutenant Durand - Viel , a student at the Naval College , respectively . As the proposals were only design studies , none were authorized and no ships were built . Gille ' s design . In 1911 , Gille went to Britain to observe the construction of the new s and s . The latter ships prompted Gille to decide the French Navy ought to build battlecruisers as well , since Britain and Germany had already begun acquiring them , and they would prove useful as a fast division of the French fleet . Gille decided that his proposed ship would need a top speed of to retain an advantage over foreign battleships , the latest of which had estimated speeds of . They would also need enough armor and a main battery powerful enough to fight in the line of battle . The limitations that weight imposed on the design , however , restricted the amount of armor possible , and so the traditional French practice of armoring the entire side of the ship would be impossible . Characteristics . Gille ' s battlecruiser design called for a displacement of on a hull that was long between perpendiculars , with a beam of at the waterline and an average draft of . The freeboard forward was , and aft was . The hull lines of the ships proved to be highly efficient in tank tests during the design process . Due to the extreme weight of the main battery turrets at the bow and stern , the hull had to be strengthened to handle the strain . Very strong longitudinal bracing was incorporated , and the inner and outer skins of the hull was thickened to reinforce the bracings . The ships ' expected metacentric height was , comparable to the British " Lion " class . Each ship would be crewed by 41 officers and 1 , 258 enlisted men . The ships would have been equipped with four sets of steam turbines rated at powered by fifty - two coal - fired Belleville boiler s . Each propeller shaft was connected to a high - pressure turbine , a medium - pressure geared turbine , and a low - pressure turbine for forward steaming , and a direct drive turbine for steaming in reverse . The ships ' top speed was to have been 28 knots . The ships would have been supplied with of coal and of fuel oil for supplementary oil firing . At maximum speed , the ships could have cruised for ; at , the range increased to , an at a more economical , the range grew to . The ships ' main armament was composed of twelve 340mm / 45 Modèle 1912 gun s in three quadruple turrets , the same as in the contemporary French battleships of the " Normandie " class . One turret was placed forward , and the other two were placed in a superfiring pair , all on the centerline . The guns had a range of and had a rate of fire of two rounds per minute . The shells were armor - piercing rounds and were fired with a muzzle velocity of . A secondary battery of twenty - four 138 . 6 mm / 55 Modèle 1910 guns mounted in casemate s was planned for defense against torpedo boat s . These guns fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of . The armament was rounded out by six torpedo tube s of undetermined diameter , all submerged in the ships ' hulls . The armor protecting both the main armored belt amidships and the main battery turrets was thick . The lower armored deck was thick , with of armor plating on the sloped sides . The casemate guns were protected with of steel armor . The ships were also equipped with a 20 mm thick torpedo bulkhead . Durand - Viel ' s designs . In 1913 , the Naval College had several of its students submit design studies for a fast capital ship . The class was given a displacement of as a limit on size ; all of the officers opted to design either fast or slow battleships , with the exception of Lieutenant Durand - Viel , who chose instead to create a design for a battlecruiser . Durand - Viel drew up a pair of designs , which were evaluated by the General Staff in June 1914 . He saw his ships forming a fast division of the battle fleet capable of encircling an enemy squadron ; as with Gille ' s design , this required heavy armament and armor to permit the ships to engage battleships . Project " A " characteristics . Durand - Viel ' s first battlecruiser design , " A " , was built on a displacement of . The hull was long at the waterline , with a beam of at the waterline and an average draft of . The ships would have been equipped with four sets of direct drive turbines rated at powered by twenty - four double - ended Belleville boilers that burned both coal and oil . The ships ' top speed was to have been . The ships would have been supplied with of coal and of fuel oil . The ships could have cruised for at , with enough fuel for an additional six hours for combat speeds . The ships ' main armament was composed of eight 340mm / 45 Modèle 1912 guns in two quadruple turrets , the same as in the contemporary French battleships of the " Normandie " class . Both turrets were placed on the centerline , on either end of the ship . A secondary battery of twenty - four 138 . 6 mm Modèle 1910 guns mounted in casemate s was planned for defense against torpedo boats . Four saluting guns were also to be equipped . The armament was rounded out by four torpedo tubes , all submerged in the ships ' hulls . The main armored belt amidships was thick , slightly thinner than the belt on the " Normandie " - class battleships . The rest of the ship ' s armor was very similar to that of the " Normandie " class . Project " B " characteristics . Durand - Viel ' s second battlecruiser design , " B " , was built on the same displacement as the first design . The heavier weight of the increased main battery was offset by a reduction in the armor protection for the secondary guns and improved performance of the ship ' s propulsion system . The hull was long at the waterline , with a beam of 27 m at the waterline and an average draft of 8 . 7 m . Two engine systems were considered : four direct drive turbines rated at or four geared turbines rated at . Steam was provided by eighteen Belleville boilers , ten of which that burned both coal and oil , and eight that were oil - fired only . The ships ' top speed was to have been for the first variant and 27 knots for the second . The ships would have been supplied with the same fuel allotment as the " A " design , with the same radius of action as well . The ships ' main armament was composed of eight guns in two quadruple turrets . Both turrets were placed on the centerline , on either end of the ship . The gun fired a shell that was capable of penetrating of armor plate at a range of . A secondary battery for defense against torpedo boats consisted of twenty - eight 138 . 6 mm guns , of a new semi - automatic design , mounted in casemates . Four 47 mm saluting guns were also to be installed . The should would also to have carried four 450 mm torpedo tubes , all submerged in the ships ' hulls . The ships ' armor system was identical to the " A " design .