Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 5:05:30-5:06:48

A failed London treaty could revive the F3 battlecruiser concept

Britain's quickest route to a treaty-era Dominion battlecruiser would be updating the already mature F3 design with a newer 16-inch gun.

BattlecruisersF3 BattlecruiserFirst London Naval Treaty (1930)Naval TreatiesNelson Class Battleships
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Question

What would a Dominion B-class battlecruiser look like if the London Naval Treaty failed?

Short answer

It would most plausibly update the mature F3 all-forward design with improved 16-inch guns because that was the fastest credible project to build.

Notes

If the first London Naval Treaty failed and Britain decided it needed a true battlecruiser, speed of design work would matter. The F3 studies were already developed far enough to retrieve and update, while newer alternatives remained less mature. Their all-forward 16-inch arrangement anticipated the Nelson family and offered a known basis for construction. The proposed adaptation would replace the earlier weapon with the improved Mark II 16-inch gun and refine the design from there. Readiness would favor an evolutionary ship built from those existing studies.