Twelve-gun fast Admirals and the treaty balance

How would four fast battleships with twelve 15-inch guns affect naval treaties?

Their combination of speed, protection and a larger battery would press the United States toward a new design and delay a treaty settlement.

The scenario assumes four Admirals completed as fast battleships with twelve 15-inch guns by the end of the First World War. Historically, Hood's speed could be balanced against Colorado's 16-inch guns and protection. These hypothetical ships would add sufficient armour for a sustained fight and fifty percent more guns than Colorado's eight-gun battery. That would remove the straightforward American counter available against Hood. A projected American response would carry twelve 16-inch guns, but those ships would first have to be built. Waiting for them would postpone a treaty and alter the fleet balance under negotiation.