The defeat pushes the next design toward a cruiser with more secondary weapons, including as many three-inch guns as the hull can carry. Those guns are explicitly intended to deter small craft from making torpedo attacks at close range. The design discussion also weighs ammunition, turret machinery, deck and belt protection, and stability instead of treating speed or main-battery caliber as the only variables. The resulting South Dakota class directly answers the earlier operational failure.
Notable Point · 1:02:55-1:06:49
Designing secondary armament against torpedo boats
The replacement cruiser design prioritizes casemates, numerous small guns, protection, and stability to keep torpedo boats at a distance.