Design
Concerned about underwater hits, the class's French designers decided to extend the waterline armour belt well below the waterline as compared to their contemporaries. The main armour was also thinner than that of its British or German counterparts, but covered more area. Their secondary armament was of a smaller size than the 15 cm (5.9 in) guns used by the Germans or the British 6-inch (152 mm) guns, but the French placed a premium on rate of fire rather than size, in order stop torpedo boats before they got within torpedo range.
Read more about this topic: Courbet Class Battleship
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