Salamis was under construction in Germany while its heavy guns depended on American delivery, leaving a critical vulnerability once war intervened. Germany lacked the industrial capacity to build both the hull and the guns. The project therefore depended on several countries even though the hull itself looked promising. Industrial capacity and international access to armament separated an impressive design from a completed fighting ship. The undelivered guns may later have armed Abercrombie-class monitors. If so, that use shows how wartime needs could redirect scarce equipment.
Notable Point · 11:46-12:24
Salamis and the limits of international supply
The unfinished Salamis reveals how a warship programme could be stranded when hull construction, heavy guns, and international supply chains did not align.