The hypothetical customer is Japan's Chinese client state in 1940, interpreted as Manchukuo. A Japanese yard must build it an impressive-looking battleship using technology from 1920-1940 while ensuring the result cannot threaten Japan. Maintenance at Port Arthur is another constraint. The designers distinguish a ship that is ineffective from one that Japanese planners would merely consider inferior, because those approaches can produce different results. The strict interpretation requires fundamental flaws that would let a Japanese heavy cruiser inflict serious damage. The design brief consequently combines the customer's desire for prestige with the supplier's determination to retain military control.
Chapter · 2:46:09-2:53:58
A deliberately weak Manchurian battleship
A 1940 Japanese yard must build a prestigious-looking battleship for a Chinese client state without creating a threat to Japan.