The Achilles comparison and cruiser flexibility

HMS Achilles provides a roughly contemporary benchmark in displacement, speed, endurance, armament, and propulsion. Although the British cruiser carried one fewer main gun, her balanced battery offered useful choices across a wider range of approach and withdrawal angles. That combination of firing arcs and endurance supported more than one tactical posture. The comparison also leads into the unbuilt M class, a lost opportunity for Germany to produce a more balanced light cruiser.