Scharnhorst's 11-inch armament reflected both immediate industrial capacity and Hitler's wish to avoid provoking Britain too strongly. Krupp could develop a 15-inch gun, but that required time for an item normally ordered before the ship itself. Arming Scharnhorst with 15-inch guns from the outset would have made the threat harder for Britain to answer: Renown and Repulse had much less armour, Hood was only one ship, and the King George V class could not compel a faster opponent to fight. One proposed response brings Vanguard-type ships into construction alongside the King George V class after earlier investment in armour production. The illustrative ordering sequence pairs a Vanguard with Duke of York, another with Anson and Howe, and a possible third with Lion and Temeraire. Spare 15-inch guns would avoid the new-gun delays expected for the Lions and could let those additional ships finish sooner. These dates form a counterfactual programme whose feasibility depends on earlier infrastructure spending.
Chapter · 1:34:30-1:41:19
A 15-inch Scharnhorst could have accelerated Vanguard
Arming Scharnhorst with 15-inch guns from the outset might have pushed Britain toward earlier Vanguard-type ships and expanded armor production.