Speed and stern firepower against a torpedo approach

The encounter explains why a lighter ship may need to close for torpedoes against a battlecruiser, while also showing the danger of doing so. As the range shrinks, the larger ship's main and secondary guns become more accurate. The battlecruiser's stern coverage, where twelve six-inch guns can fire, is a deliberate answer to pursuers trying to attack from astern. The design turns the usual torpedo approach into a contest between the attacker's closing distance and the defender's rapidly improving gunfire.