Battlecruisers fought as groups, not solo test cases

The realistic test of a battlecruiser is its work within a squadron, convoy escort, distant station, or wider fleet operation rather than a solitary duel. Royal Navy battlecruisers normally operated in pairs when numbers permitted, although a single ship might escort a convoy or serve on a remote station such as Australia. German battlecruisers likewise formed a scouting group because breaking out alone would expose them to a larger British formation. The watch point therefore shifts comparison from the paper qualities of one hull to the force that could deploy and fight together.