Why Hood's proper target was trade, not Yamato

Four- or five-inch secondary batteries point toward defence against smaller vessels, while heavier six-inch batteries imply a different surface threat. Hood, Renown, and Repulse were not meant to seek Yamato in a gun duel; their speed and heavy main battery could instead devastate Japanese convoys and shipping lanes. That commerce-raiding role could pair a battlecruiser with Town-class cruisers, which had the range for distant operations. Tribal-class destroyers were more suitable for shorter-range commerce warfare in places such as the Mediterranean, not a long Far Eastern sweep. Using the ships against trade would force Japan to divert battleships to catch them while leaving the actual capital-ship duel to British battleships.