What a six-inch cruiser revealed about Baleares

Libertad's six-inch gunfire struck Baleares in several critical places and ignited a 4.7-inch ammunition storeroom. Baleares escaped badly damaged by the slightly older light cruiser. The action suggested that an eight-inch cruiser could not expect to knock out a six-inch opponent quickly. It took place in 1937, late for the Royal Navy to change its cruiser design and construction plans. The result could be read as encouragement for its existing wager on six-inch cruisers, although British combat experience would still be needed to test that judgment.