Building a 15,000-ton large cruiser

The fictional large cruiser carries 9.2-inch guns and the same 5.5-inch secondaries proposed for the larger capital ship. The design combines oil fuel, geared turbines, flooding protection, belt and deck armour, and a target speed above 30 knots. A narrower hull reduces roll but makes the ship look and behave more like a small battleship, exposing the blurred boundary between large cruiser and battlecruiser. The layered-armour question is whether a thinner outer belt should trigger a shell before a stronger inner belt protects the vitals. The resulting classification follows from capability tradeoffs rather than an official label alone.