A battlecruiser with twelve 15-inch guns would need substantial machinery to retain a speed advantage over a 28-knot Queen Elizabeth. A hypothetical Hood built to those requirements could reach roughly 55,000 tons. A cheaper alternative for the Revenge class would remove one triple turret, leaving nine 15-inch guns while retaining the 28-knot speed. That would still produce a powerful, fast British battle line and change the setting for the Washington negotiations.
Notable Point · 3:37:43-3:39:09
How a 28-knot battle line enlarges its battlecruisers
A fast, twelve-gun Queen Elizabeth counterfactual drives larger battlecruisers and suggests a nine-gun Revenge as the cheaper alternative.