Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are classified here as fast battleships on the basis of their design and intended role. Their 11-inch guns do not make them armored battlecruisers in that interpretation. Politics and the wish to bring the ships into service determined the smaller armament. Waiting for 15-inch guns is estimated to have delayed their arrival by another year to eighteen months.
Notable Point · 2:02:36-2:03:09
Why Scharnhorst's 11-inch guns did not define her type
An interpretation of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as fast battleships explains their smaller guns through politics and the cost of delaying completion.