Nautilus proved that dedicated minelayers were useful, although its low speed suited the Baltic better than the North Sea. Germany then had years to develop a faster successor after the two ships demonstrated the concept between 1905 and 1908. Light cruisers of this type demanded relatively little armour, heavy armament, crew, or machinery compared with capital ships. The navy understood the requirement but did not fund an iterative program until wartime circumstances forced one.
Chapter · 9:49-11:23
The missed minelayer program
The older Nautilus class had already proved the concept, yet Germany did not turn that experience into an earlier fast-minelayer program.