Why battlecruiser visits led back to light-cruiser numbers

Fisher's alternative to numerous station ships relied on battlecruisers making rare but highly publicized visits. Their size promised a much larger immediate impression, yet a visit once or twice a year could not replace contact every six to eight weeks. Regular callers supplied intelligence, relationships, and an early warning that allowed a larger station flagship to appear before a crisis became unmanageable. The Royal Navy returned to numbers through a vast light-cruiser program, at one point building as many in a year as the next five naval powers combined. Publicity and concentrated power still required a lower-cost layer of persistent ships.