Yeah, a late-war XI is an impressive sight, bristling with guns as she is.
As big as the IX/D2 was, you have to wonder why they didn't try outfitting her with a twin 88mm turret instead of the single 105mm. Then again, maybe they did try it?
It would have been a sight to see if the "U-Cruiser" had been produced, with those four big guns, paired fore and aft. There were even plans to copy Japanese designs for those impractical, but ingenious, submersible aircraft carriers.
For all we know about World War II, we've already lost so much knowledge about that world-shaping conflict which affects our lives over a half-century later and, likely, far into the future. Historians are constantly rediscovering new facts that requires rewriting some of the books.