OK, I can understand not having the funds to build 1 36000 ton ship. The thing is two 23000 ton ships even with reused turrets wont be cheap. Add to that the fact its going to still use up 3 years worth of tonnage allowance and I have to as, exactly how much cash would Italy have saved?.
I can imagine someone in the Italian government will have made this point. A fact the Fascists will have jumped on I would have thought to call for a monster 36000 ton ship. (Also I am assuming that the point of Fascists being involved in the Italian Government is foreshadowing). In fact I find it hard to imagine It was cheaper, you still have to buy 46000 tons of steel to make the two ships minus any weight saved with the re-used turrets, plus build new turrets. Building a single 36000 ton ship must surely have been a cheaper option. I can understand if the only way to get the ships is to sell the idea as 2 small ships with re-used bits is cheaper but surely that argument must have been made by someone. Or was it a way to keep the Fascists happy for a bit and keep dockyard work going? even then though.
Well, you have to bear in mind that even with Caracciolo in service the Italians are at a certain disadvantage, number rise that is, and this ships are more than a round business as a solution to their current issue and one that's useful in the long term, because for the price of one Caracciolo, you could have two battlecruisers to a sound design to fit to your necessities, e.g. extended patrol in Libya or Ethiopia (if it gets conquer, of course), or simply a fast response squadron in this case, which is perfectly understandable given the better standing the battlecruisers have currently in the international stage.
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