Dimensions, propulsion, and stability under heavy guns

The ships displaced 9,950 long tons standard and 12,463 long tons fully loaded, with a waterline length of about 176 metres. A draft just under six metres balanced access to port infrastructure against the depth needed to steady a heavily armed hull. Eight boilers supplied four geared turbines and shafts for 107,000 horsepower and a top speed of 32.7 knots, while a crew of roughly 708 operated separate main- and secondary-battery fire-control systems. The turrets carried eight-inch front plates but only one-and-a-half-inch rear plates, so rotating them shifted a large, uneven mass high above the waterline. Hull form and weight distribution therefore remained important stability concerns whenever the guns trained or fired.