Competition with the Army constrained the Kaiserliche Marine's light forces as well as its capital ships. Naval spending competed for money that could fund Army equipment and research, and the Army remained Germany's primary force. The cheap torpedo boat offered a politically attractive counter to larger British destroyers. Yet the size comparison concealed different missions: British boats were built for worldwide service, while German designs concentrated on the North Sea. In this interpretation, budget allocation also restricted the industrial capacity Germany could have developed, so the constraint went beyond existing yard capacity.
Notable Point · 21:58-24:18
Army budgets kept the cheap-boat idea alive
Domestic competition with the German Army made torpedo boats attractive as supposedly cheap counters to larger, globally deployable British destroyers.