Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt, Stanley Goodall, William Berry, and Edward Attwood formed the experienced design team behind the treaty studies. F2 and F3 concentrated their guns forward, paired substantial protection with speeds around 28.5 to 29.5 knots, and considered new 15-inch/50-calibre weapons. F2 resembled an all-forward Renown, while F3 offered the more attractive combination of nine guns, range, protection, and speed. Both designs show that Nelson's arrangement emerged from a sequence of fast-ship studies rather than appearing as an isolated novelty after the treaty. The exercise also shows what a veteran team could preserve when a political limit abruptly removed more than ten thousand tons from the preceding G3 and N3 concepts.
Chapter · 1:13:34-1:28:21
F2 and F3: the fast designs behind Nelson's all-forward layout
An unusually experienced British team explored F2 and F3 as 35,000-ton fast capital ships, establishing the all-forward arrangement and testing what could be retained from G3 and N3 thinking.