Germany could not sensibly leap from the Deutschland class straight to a full modern battleship after its naval-industrial base had been suppressed. The Scharnhorsts provided an intermediate design through which yards and suppliers could relearn large-warship construction. Their value lay as much in rebuilding industrial competence as in their individual combat characteristics.
Notable Point · 2:03:44-2:05:46
Scharnhorst as a German industrial test bed
The Scharnhorsts are presented as a cautious step in rebuilding German capital-ship capacity after the First World War rather than as idealised battlecruisers.