"Vice-Amiral" François Darlan, who had by now replaced Durand-Viel as Chief of Staff, issued a request for studies on 2 December 1937 with the requirements that the proposals be based on the "Richelieu" design, armed with eight or nine 380 mm guns in quadruple or triple turrets, equipped with a secondary battery of 152 mm or 130 mm dual-purpose guns or a mixed battery of 152 mm and 100 mm guns, and with armor on the same scale as "Richelieu". A series of proposals were submitted, ranging from effective repeats of the "Richelieu" design with minor improvements (the Project A series) to plans that shifted the superfiring main battery turret aft of the superstructure (the Project B series), to the nine-gun variants that kept two triple turrets forward and a third aft (the Project C series). All three basic formats included several variations that incorporated changes to the composition and arrangement of the secondary and anti-aircraft batteries. The Project C variants all displaced close to and thus were not seriously considered, as they exceeded the displacement limits by a wide margin. The designers submitted the A and B variants to Darlan on 19 March 1938 and he chose one version of each for "Clemenceau" and "Gascogne", respectively. As a result, the former would retain the basic "Richelieu" layout, while the latter would adopt an arrangement with one main battery turret shifted aft. Both variants necessitated significant changes to the arrangement of other equipment, including the light anti-aircraft batteries and aviation facilities, but "Gascogne" required much more radical work. The rest of the naval command preferred the B version adopted for "Gascogne" and questioned why Darlan had approved the A variant for "Clemenceau"; he stated that he hoped to be able to lay down the third "Richelieu"-class ship in late 1938 and that the necessary redesign work for the hull interior that the B variant required would delay construction by twelve months at a minimum. The command concurred and authorization for the next ship was issued on 24 August. The most significant change to the design for "Clemenceau" was to the arrangement of the secondary and anti-aircraft batteries. The number of triple 152 mm turrets was reduced to four, with two amidships wing turrets and two turrets on the centerline aft of the superstructure. Though the number of guns was reduced, the new arrangement actually secured the same broadside, as three turrets could still be brought to bear to either side of the ship.