Admiral Hipper's design is criticized for the weight required to obtain its fighting capabilities. Compared with the New Orleans class and other cruisers, the additional displacement brought too little improvement in firepower and protection. The explanation offered is divided responsibility across committees, a problem also applied to several other German heavy-ship programmes. Effective delivery required a designer with clear responsibility and a naval officer empowered to supervise the result. Spreading authority across overlapping bodies weakened that accountability and helped produce ships whose combined performance disappointed despite attractive individual specifications.
Notable Point · 46:32-48:19
Admiral Hipper's displacement and divided design responsibility
The criticism of Admiral Hipper concerns how little additional fighting capability its greater displacement bought, with divided design responsibility offered as an explanation.