Early options included a 15-inch/50 weapon capable of forty-degree elevation, while F3 paired nine such guns with far more speed than Nelson. Its official 28.5-knot figure would have produced a genuinely fast new capital ship under the same treaty ceiling. Adopting the gun might also have enabled upgrades across Britain's existing 15-inch fleet. A common long 15-inch weapon for the new ships, the Queen Elizabeth class, Renown, Repulse, and Hood would have raised fleet-wide firepower instead of improving only two hulls. That standard would also have made a later move to 14-inch weapons harder to justify.
Notable Point · 24:59-28:49
The fast F3 and its 15-inch/50 alternative
The 35,000-ton F3 study offered nine long 15-inch guns and 28.5 knots, with the possibility of extending one gun standard across Britain's capital fleet.