The Oden class carried two 10-inch guns, six 4.7-inch guns, ten 57 mm weapons, and an 18-inch torpedo tube on only 3,445 tons. Charlemagne displaced 11,275 tons, more than three times as much. That comparison does not make Oden an equal in open-water fighting. It shows why an attacker could not dismiss the compact coastal battleship as a patrol craft or minor obstacle. A small coastal navy could force an opponent to bring heavier and more expensive ships than the defender's tonnage alone would suggest.
Chapter · 5:30-7:14
Oden class: compact coastal battle power
Sweden's Oden class concentrates enough guns in a 3,445-ton coastal ship to make an attacker commit much larger and costlier vessels.