How early gas turbines could reshape battleship design

Gas traction experiments began in the late nineteenth century, raising the counterfactual possibility that the technology could have matured into marine turbines by the world wars. Britain might manufacture gas from coal or decomposing organic matter and depend less heavily on imported oil. Distributed biomethane production could also reduce the tanker burden by creating fuel at more locations around the world. The machinery's size, weight, and required changes to the rest of the propulsion plant remain uncertain. A deliberately extreme illustration gives a fast King George V four quadruple 14-inch turrets to expose how propulsion choices affect weapons, logistics, and strategic comparison. Later discussion of pressurized or liquefied gas adds another tradeoff: denser storage could improve endurance while increasing the consequences of a fuel accident.