The Italian ship that forces every battle line to accelerate

Four Francesco Caracciolo-class ships could enter service by 1918 with eight 15-inch guns and a speed of about 28 knots. Their position in the Mediterranean matters because Britain's imperial reaction fleet and the French Navy would measure themselves directly against Italian capability. A three-knot advantage helps choose range, while seven knots lets the faster force control bearing and repeatedly threaten to cross a slower opponent's T. The United States could not indefinitely preserve a 21-knot standard battle line once Britain, Italy, and Japan were moving toward the higher speed. Caracciolo, rather than gun calibre alone, resets the international standard and pushes capital ships toward roughly 40,000 tons.