The Nagato class combined 16-inch guns with a standard displacement close to the size envisaged for future treaty battleships. An assumption that these ships made only 21 knots substantially underestimated their speed. Their quoted 26.5 knots left them below the 28-knot benchmark used here for a fast battleship able to accompany the cruiser line. A battleship could therefore be unusually fast for its period while remaining below that threshold.
Notable Point · 1:10:55-1:12:19
Nagato's speed below the fast-battleship threshold
Nagato's quoted 26.5 knots shows why a battleship could be fast for its generation without reaching the 28-knot cruiser-line benchmark.