The naval-history aside traces larger general-purpose fleet destroyers from the 1930s through the Second World War and into the Cold War, a path toward modern guided-missile destroyers. It then contrasts the Bismarck design with continued development of the Scharnhorst line. Bismarck had promising features, but committee power and political connections prevented those features from becoming an efficient whole. Promising components cannot compensate for a decision system in which politically connected committees optimize separate interests.
Notable Point · 1:15:00-1:17:33
Modern destroyer development and the danger of design by committee
A naval-history aside links 1930s fleet destroyers to modern guided-missile ships and uses Bismarck to criticize politically fragmented design decisions.