A photograph appears to contain almost the entire German battlecruiser force, with Goeben recalled as the only absent ship. A single British battlecruiser squadron provides the comparison, and the Royal Navy fielded several such squadrons. Japan likewise planned an initial four battlecruisers and further four-ship groups as its 8-8 ideas evolved, pairing battlecruiser construction with battleships and later fast-battleship concepts. The scale and continuity of construction affected what each navy could do with its chosen designs.
Notable Point · 1:36:42-1:38:23
Battlecruiser squadrons and Japan's 8-8 plan
Comparing Germany's force with Britain's squadrons and Japan's repeated four-ship plans shows why battlecruiser doctrine depended on programme scale as well as individual designs.