The French ironclad Marceau looks weird due to a combination of a unique "diamond" main gun arrangement, an extreme "tumblehome" hull design, and the constraints of being an outdated design by the time it was completed. The diamond layout, with guns on the centerline and in wing positions, allowed for heavy broadsides and a strong chase/retreat fire arc. However, the long construction delays meant the Marceau class was obsolete upon commissioning, superseded by new pre-dreadnoughts, which explai