France France 
Just prior to WWI, France passed the rather
ambitious Naval Law of 30th March 1912, which
called for the French Navy to reach a strength
of 28 capital ships by 1922. As part of this
bold plan, several designs for a battlecruiser
were developed in 1913/14. The designs were
known by the names of the designers who drew
them up, M. Gille and Durand-Viel.
The Gille's design provided the best firepower,
with 12 13.4-inch main guns in three quad
turrets.
CLICK HERE FOR DRAWING AND SPECS OF THE GILLE
DESIGN
Durand-Viel drew up two basic designs, "A"
and "B", with design "B"
having two powerplant options. Both D-V designs
carried two quad turrets, and slightly more
armor than the Gille's design, but the difference
between the two was in the main gun caliber.
Project "A" was for 27-knot ship
with 8x 34-cm guns in two quad turrets, with
24x 13.86-cm secondary guns, a main armor
belt of 280mm, and turbine propulsion.
CLICK HERE FOR DRAWING AND SPECS OF DESIGN
"A"
Project "B" was for a slightly
larger ship carrying 8x 37-cm guns, with
24 x 13.86-cm secondary guns, and the same
280mm main belt. The secondary guns would
have been in a mix of unusual twin casemates,
and conventional single casemates. Propulsion
had two options: turbines, or geared turbines.
CLICK HERE FOR DRAWING AND SPECS OF DESIGN
"B".
In the end, all battlecruiser development
was put on hold by the First World War. After
the war, France lacked the resources to continue,
and the project came to nothing.
Pictures:
These vessels were officially called "batiments de ligne", meaning "battleships". However, with their high speed, smallish armament, and intended role as heavy cruiser killer, they can be considered to be battlecruisers.
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