I know this. It was only an arithmetic to proove that SH/GS had the best vertical protection of all BB's till 18000-19000m. It was better than Bismarcks.Defeating the belt doesn't matter because its the slope plus the belt is what that matters. I believe that not even Okun say that defeating the belt and slopes of German battleships together was possible at even point blank range, even for 16-inch guns?
Two cents in this...
The slopes and the low main deck were constructed as "explosion decks", because the german engineers wanted a straight main belt and not an inclined belt.
So they knew that the main belt could be defeated, so they put the slopes behind this belt.
Gneisenau was at the docks and the work has begun and the new 15inch turrents were at the docks. It wasn't a mystery to upgunn the twins because the bore of the barbettes from the tripple 11inch turrent was equal to the double 15inch turrent. And to cut the forward ship at turrent A with the bow to lengthen the forward ship about 10m isn't a mystery too.and the Germans didn't have the resources to up-gun them, which - to do it properly? - would have been a lot of work, not just a minor yard period. And while 15" guns may have improved them, they still would have been somewhat undergunned against the RN's KGV's, and decisively outgunned by any USN battleship built after the 1920s.
I don't know all that much about this - were the Germans serious in efforts to re-gun Gneisenau?
What do you mean with "do it properly"? Do you think the german can built SH/GS, BS/TP and don't have the know how to do this properly?
Sometimes i think there are some mystery myths about german ship building at WWII.
And they have had the recources!
To not upgun and repair the ship was a political decision from Hitler, because he thinks that submarines can do the job better and won't put the recources to this refit. He was no big fan of the german BB's because he don't understand very much of navy doctrin, tactics and strategies.
Edit:
That isn't correct because of the 10m longer forward ship. This will boost the draft about 500-700ts so the ships aren't wetter.If they're going to add a heavier main battery, they're going to make already wet ships even wetter... they'll have to add some buoyancy, which isn't going to be quick & easy. that's what i meant.