Experimentation did not require preserving a poor arrangement

The Reichsmarine had a legitimate need to preserve ship design, construction, and crew skills under difficult interwar conditions. That institutional need did not justify repeating Leipzig's arrangement. Other navies were testing all-forward batteries and alternative cruiser layouts, providing models for a more coherent experimental ship. Concentrating guns forward, propulsion amidships, and aircraft or mines aft could have supported experimentation without the same tactical compromise.