Q&A · 2:54:16-2:56:01

Four battleships under a 100,000-ton class budget

Dividing 100,000 tons among four ships favours compact, Dunkerque-like battleships with six 16-inch guns and enough speed for useful fleet service.

Question

What four battleships would you build within a combined 100,000-ton displacement budget?

Short answer

Four compact Dunkerque-like ships with six 16-inch guns forward and a speed of about 28 knots could fit the class-wide limit.

Notes

A four-ship class sharing 100,000 tons allows an average of 25,000 tons per hull. Compact Dunkerque-like ships could carry two forward triple 16-inch turrets and make around 28 knots. British construction practice might reduce the French design's roughly 26,500-ton standard displacement enough to meet that average. A class-wide budget favours several deployable ships and disciplined capability choices over one extreme design.