 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 27 @,@ 500 t ( 27 @,@ 100 long tons ; 30 @,@ 300 short tons ) 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 . 
