Q&A · 4:52:36-4:55:39

How the faster A2 version of HMS Tiger might survive the London Naval Treaty

The faster A2 version of Tiger could change later battlecruiser requirements and strengthen her case for retention under treaty limits.

Question

If HMS Tiger had been built to the A2 design, how likely was she to survive the London Naval Treaty?

Short answer

A faster, more powerful Tiger would be more attractive to retain, though her survival would still depend on treaty limits and the alternatives the Royal Navy chose to discard.

Notes

The A2 variants promised roughly thirty knots and more than 100,000 shaft horsepower without a radical increase in displacement. That performance would make Tiger a more useful fleet unit and a stronger candidate for modernization when treaty limits forced choices among capital ships. A successful fast Tiger could also influence the requirements set for Renown and Repulse, the Admiral class, and eventually the G3 design. The counterfactual therefore changes not only whether one ship survives but also the performance baseline against which later British battlecruisers are judged.