Building a cruiser with 9.2-inch guns changes the starting point of the rivalry. It still gives Germany a reason to build a ship capable of defeating it. An 11-inch German battery and a 12-inch British reply illustrate how each step would make the next cruiser more expensive and more like a capital ship. Cruiser gun calibres could remain below those of the newest battleships even as the ships grew into something recognisable as battlecruisers.
Notable Point · 29:26-30:24
How an armoured-cruiser race could produce battlecruisers
A British 9.2-inch cruiser could invite a German 11-inch reply and a British move to 12-inch guns.