British and French navies limited maximum calibre of main guns according to the Dutch magazine Marineblad dated 1894-1895 no. 7

An item reported that in the British and French navies the heavy guns of 40-43cm were replaced by smaller ones, except for the ones already in service. The British Admiralty wanted that each gun was to be hand controlled despite the available mechanical devices. For this reason were 30,5cm guns with a weight of 50 tons the largest guns for new ships. The French navy ordered that the steel-wire 34cm L 142 cal guns with a weight of 77 tons were the largest guns to be used.