 The casemates were protected with of steel plate.The conning tower had thick sides.Over the course of 1912 through 1914, the navy tried to modify "Vérité" and her sister to allow the 305 mm guns to be aimed continuously Tests to determine whether the main battery turrets could be modified to increase the elevation of the guns (and hence their range) proved to be impossible, but the Navy determined that tanks on either side of the vessel could be flooded to induce a heel of 2 degrees.