A real ship without ammunition or torpedoes would use its speed to disengage, which exposes a limit in the game's behavior. Earlier in the fight, torpedoes kept the armoured opponents at bay, so exhausting them removes the lighter force's best deterrent. The result still illustrates a design lesson: numerical and speed advantages erode when lightly protected ships cannot finish opponents with modest armour. The Belfast-inspired ships carry only about four and a half inches of belt armour, yet that limited protection gives them enough staying power to dominate the closing fight. A cruiser expected to remain in combat needs some survivability built into its design.
Notable Point · 31:44-33:23
A little armour overturns the cruiser simulation
Once the fast light cruisers exhaust their torpedoes, the armoured Town-inspired ships survive long enough to turn the battle.