The proposed British programme alters the standard German ships would have to evade or defeat. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau historically received eleven-inch guns because larger weapons were not ready, while Germany preferred fifteen-inch weapons. In this alternate fleet environment, numerous 28-knot British battleships, modernized Queen Elizabeths, and refitted battlecruisers would deny those ships a comfortable speed advantage. Deutschland-style raiders would simultaneously face 9.2-inch cruisers and more widely available fast capital ships. An interwar treaty rule could therefore change the practical usefulness of later German designs.
Notable Point · 1:15:14-1:17:50
Fast treaty fleets leave German raiders few safe roles
A world with numerous 28-knot, sixteen-inch-gun British ships and heavier cruisers would make Scharnhorst- and Deutschland-style German commerce raiders far harder to justify.