The closing scenario assumes four Project 21 battleships enter service before the Soviet Union shifts to Project 23. Together with an older Gangut-class battleship, they would give the Baltic Fleet a stronger surface force. Each Project 21 would carry nine 16-inch guns against the Scharnhorst class's nine 11-inch guns. Scharnhorst was faster on paper, though a 28-knot pursuer could still catch a ship encountered at cruising speed. The comparison turns an abstract fleet total into a concrete German planning problem.
Notable Point · 55:24-57:07
Project 21 as a Scharnhorst hunter in the Baltic
Four Project 21 battleships could force Germany to rethink Baltic operations and the role of the Scharnhorst class.