Q&A · 2:15:03-2:16:43

Three pieces of battleship advice for the Admiralty in 1912

A time-travel design question prioritizes faster Queen Elizabeths, longer-ranged main guns, and an early dual-purpose secondary battery.

Question

What three design recommendations would be most useful to the Admiralty in 1912?

Short answer

Build 28-knot Queen Elizabeths with triple 15-inch/50 turrets, give the main battery roughly 40 degrees of elevation, and develop high-angle 4.7- or 5-inch guns against airships and aircraft.

Notes

The recommendations stay close enough to 1912 technology to be demonstrable rather than merely predicting later carrier warfare. Greater speed and twelve 15-inch guns would transform the Queen Elizabeth class, while higher elevation expands the main battery's reach. A high-angle medium-caliber weapon begins solving the future anti-aircraft problem before the First World War fixes fleet design around lower-angle guns.