A second battlecruiser design works around fire-control limits

A second battlecruiser design uses a roughly 22,500-ton hull made as narrow as the game permits. The hull currently accepts only three main-battery mountings, so the layout builds around that limit rather than forcing a larger arrangement. Six- and four-inch secondary guns, anti-torpedo protection, and a double hull are added while the design reports a reduced target signature. The available rangefinders are too weak to justify spending displacement on an arrangement premised on reliable long-range hits. Raising speed to 28 knots then creates weight and balance problems that must be trimmed before the design is accepted. Eight ships are ordered, bringing the campaign's planned battlecruiser total to twenty-four and turning a single design experiment into rapid battle-fleet replacement.