More capable heavy cruisers and specialised scouts could, in this interpretation, have improved operations in both world wars. Treaty limits shaped the ships between light forces and capital ships as well as battleships and aircraft carriers. The 10,000-ton allowance with 8-inch guns is criticised as a poor basis for a viable cruiser. The counterfactual asks which useful cruiser designs went undeveloped when those limits became the accepted starting point.
Chapter · 11:07-13:00
Cruisers as a missing link in the Second World War
Larger heavy cruisers and specialised scouts are proposed as ways to fill gaps in Second World War fleets.