The central command post received the range and bearing information from the rangefinders and calculated firing solutions, which would then be sent via the electric order transmitters to direct the fire of individual guns or sections. Armor The ship's armor was constructed with nickel steel manufactured by several firms, including Schneider-Creusot, Saint-Chamond, and Châtillon & Commentry, which allowed the design staff to reduce the thickness of the steel without compromising its effectiveness. Thus, weight could be saved that could be used elsewhere in the displacement-limited ships. The main belt was thick amidships, and tapered down to at the lower edge. Forward of the central citadel, the belt was reduced to (also reduced to 200 mm on the lower edge) and aft of the citadel, it tapered to (reduced to on the bottom edge). The belt extended for the entire length of the hull, and it was backed with 200 mm of teak. Above the belt was thick strake of side armor that created a highly subdivided cofferdam to reduce the risk of flooding from battle damage. The side of the cofferdam was reinforced by two layers of plating. Bouvets main deck was protected with of mild steel, back with two layers of 10 mm plating. Mild steel was used here, as the deck was designed to bend rather than shatter when struck by an armor-piercing shell at an oblique angle. The lower platform deck was thick, with a single layer of 10 mm plating behind it; it was intended to catch splinters that penetrated the main deck. The main battery guns (both the 305 mm and 274 mm guns) were protected with of cemented armor on the faces and sides, with thick roofs and thick floors. Both the floors and roofs were composed of mild steel. The turrets sat atop barbettes with thick sides. The 138 mm turrets had thick sides and faces, with roofs and floors. Gun shields that were thick protected the 100 mm guns. The conning tower had thick sides, a 20 mm thick roof, and a thick floor. The uptakes for the boilers were protected with coamings that were 300 mm thick. The ship's armor layout was not as effective as the designers had hoped; at the designed displacement, the belt armor was submerged with just a 3° heel, and training all of the main battery turrets to one side would produce a heel of 2°.