Building a fast light cruiser inside a weight budget

This design chapter treats displacement as a budget that every requirement must share. The initial wish list includes speed, armour, long-range six-inch guns, torpedoes, antiflooding protection, and a modern targeting tower. Beam, range, machinery, armour distribution, and weapon placement are adjusted until the hull returns to 15,000 tons. The finished cruiser makes 36 knots, carries nine six-inch guns and a strong torpedo battery, and accepts a range of only 4,000 kilometres. Ordering twelve ships then connects those design compromises to the fleet's available construction tonnage.