Q&A · 3:01:50-3:02:08

Could spare 11-inch turrets arm large cruisers?

Conversion releases usable 11-inch weapons, but wartime funding makes new large cruisers unlikely and coastal batteries offer a more plausible destination.

Question

Could Germany use the 11-inch turrets released by conversion to arm new large cruisers?

Short answer

Technically yes, but funding is unlikely and the guns are more plausibly reused in Atlantic Wall coastal batteries.

Notes

Rearming a Scharnhorst hull with 15-inch weapons would leave triple 11-inch turrets available. Those mountings could technically support a new large-cruiser proposal. The problem is obtaining wartime funding and yard capacity for another major surface-combatant class after the existing fleet has suffered losses. Reuse in Atlantic Wall coastal defenses is more plausible than building fresh cruisers around the spare guns.