A scaled-up design with three triple 15-inch turrets is one tempting answer, although the beam required could restrict operations. The idea remains a possibility rather than the final answer offered here. The broader question is what a natural successor would look like if naval requirements, rather than Hitler's interventions and competing agencies, guided development. Viewers are invited to decide which Scharnhorst qualities should be preserved and which systems should evolve after the class's propulsion lessons. The prompt receives no transcript-visible answer, so it is presented as a design exercise rather than Q&A.
Notable Point · 1:07:07-1:09:26
What should have followed Scharnhorst?
The closing design exercise asks how Germany might have evolved Scharnhorst without political pressure and competing bureaucratic demands.