How fleet support shapes secondary armament

Secondary guns consume weight and space that could support other characteristics, so their value depends on the fleet around the ship. A battleship built only to duel battleships could omit them if friendly cruisers and destroyers guaranteed that no light attacker broke through. Real screens cannot offer that certainty, which creates a case for the battleship's own anti-destroyer battery. Anti-cruiser guns are harder to justify when friendly cruisers can intercept the enemy and the battleship's main armament can engage any survivors. Secondary armament therefore shows how much protection a ship is expected to receive from the wider fleet.