Why is the F3 battlecruiser design better than the Admiral and Renown classes despite slightly lower speed and range?
Short answerF3 combines broader and improved protection, nine 15-inch/50 guns, six-inch secondaries, and a more demanding postwar fighting role. Those gains are judged more useful than the earlier ships' speed and range advantages.
NotesF3 reflects a postwar expectation that a battlecruiser should withstand contemporary heavy gunfire. Its broader armor coverage is compared with Hood's relatively shallow 12-inch belt, while improvements in armor quality had been delayed by wartime production pressures. F3 would carry nine 15-inch/50 guns, against eight 15-inch/42 guns in Hood and six in the Renowns, together with six-inch secondaries. The longer guns and larger battery are separate advantages, and nine guns allow more satisfactory salvo fire than six. At a little over 28 knots, the design approaches the fast-battleship role while remaining on the battlecruiser side of that distinction. Aircraft facilities also contribute to its usefulness. These gains explain the willingness to accept less speed and range than the earlier ships. In a hypothetical Washington Treaty bargain, seven F3s might replace the entire existing British battlecruiser force, including Hood, to provide a fast wing alongside the five Revenge-class and five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships.