The counterfactual grants Germany 35 cm gun and ammunition production in 1935, three years before the additional ships appear. That premise answers an objection that the new battlecruisers would lack an ammunition and manufacturing base. A further concern is that German rearmament could divert the factories to other equipment. The reply suggests that arming Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with these guns would give the production line continuing work. A nine-gun fit is proposed, then qualified by the observation that it would probably require a larger Scharnhorst design.
Notable Point · 1:10:51-1:12:26
Would early 35 cm gun production change Scharnhorst?
The scenario's early heavy-gun production could change Scharnhorst's armament, but a nine-gun fit would probably require a larger ship.