I think the armour scheme was actually because they couldn’t built a 16 inch thick plate, rather than a deliberate decision such as on the Vittorio veneto class.
There was a lot of problems with them trying to make battleships. Their steel and production techniques were nowhere near as capable as their plans were.
The imperfections made it impossible.
By the time they came close to competent enough, battleships were becoming obsolete.
Modern Leclerc have an average protection of about 700mm in the front. But we don’t see that as Gaijin is picky about their sources and France doesn’t let those details out very easily.
The T-14 is over hyped by every metric possible.
You’re getting an over engineered vehicle that can’t be produced that is only on-par with it’s western counterparts.
The amount of protection that is commonly suggested is impossible. At worst, the gun will lead to detonation of it’s ammo, especially if it’s 152mm. The hull armor is also unremarkable, you can’t combine the composite of the West and heavy ERA of the East without getting a vehicle that’s overweight and unbalanced.
At most it’s similar to what the Type 10 and Leclerc should be without the mobility.