How would eight 28-knot Queen Elizabeth-type battleships affect the Washington Naval Treaty?
Short answerThey would probably bring a full Admiral class as well and make Britain insist on retaining a battle fleet of at least twenty capital ships.
NotesCompleting all eight fast battleships implies that Britain probably also finishes the sixth Queen Elizabeth. The need to replace wartime battlecruiser losses would push the four Admiral-class ships through more quickly and with less hesitation. Britain would arrive at Washington with roughly eighteen 15-inch capital ships before counting every retained unit. That fleet would produce a much firmer negotiating position and little willingness to accept a ceiling below about twenty capital ships.