The Blücher is often derided as a German answer to the British battlecruisers where the Germans got the main gun calibre wrong and produced a ship that was obsolete already before being launched. However, I wonder, was the Blücher really that bad a design? I hazard the opinion that the only thing wrong with her was that she would have needed a couple of knots more speed. A 27 knot Blüchher would have made her a forerunner of the heavy cruiser and probably much more uuseful than the battlecruisers, especially British battlecruisers. In this I also take account of her toughness. Admittedly, she appears to have been crippled by a lucky shot, but after that she proved exceedingly difficult to sink.:):eek:;):p