A warship's design had to be frozen early enough to order items with long manufacturing lead times. By the time its keel was laid, work on the next year's successor should already be well advanced. An intelligence request for the latest German battlecruiser concept could therefore uncover plans newer than the Mackensen design entering construction. This offers a possible explanation for British reports that looked more like Ersatz Yorck than Mackensen. It remains an interpretation of the mismatch, rather than proof that a particular design study was obtained. Ersatz Yorck's heavier armament also came with a lower official speed of 27 knots and little additional protection, leaving it disadvantaged against the Admirals.
Notable Point · 1:26:56-1:28:29
Intelligence can reveal a successor while its predecessor is being built
Annual construction schedules meant the latest German battlecruiser concept could differ substantially from the design already on the slipway.