Q&A ยท 3:43:00-3:43:45

Warspite replaced by a Vanguard-class battleship in 1939

A ship-replacement counterfactual tests how Vanguard's speed would change Warspite's famous wartime encounters.

Question

What if Warspite in 1939 were replaced by a copy of Vanguard?

Short answer

The greater speed and modern performance would make Matapan and encounters with German battlecruisers far more decisive.

Notes

At Cape Matapan the Italian fleet would struggle to disengage from a much faster British battleship. Vanguard could also accompany Renown more effectively against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, turning encounters that depended on separation and speed into much more dangerous actions for the German ships.