The sixteen-gun six-inch battery had an offensive role against lesser opponents. K3 would also carry six 4.7-inch anti-aircraft guns and large torpedo tubes, giving it several weapon layers below the main battery. The six-inch guns could be murderous against cruisers and merchant ships while preserving scarce 18-inch ammunition for opponents that required it. The logic resembles pre-dreadnought practice: very large guns for the most dangerous target and a numerous intermediate battery for routine combat. K3's so-called secondary weapons matched the primary armament of many vessels it might encounter.
Notable Point · 23:09-24:45
A secondary battery powerful enough for cruisers and commerce
K3's sixteen six-inch guns suggest a pre-dreadnought-like division of labour in which the main battery was reserved for capital ships and the secondaries handled lesser opponents.