The more ambitious scenario treats 15-inch standardization as a bargaining asset. After removing the four 13.5-inch battleships and upgrading Tiger, Britain would retain a little over 136,000 tons of capital-ship allowance in this calculation. That could accommodate four ships of about 34,000 tons each, provided an F3-derived design could be brought within that figure. Nelson and Rodney's stated 33,800-ton standard displacement supplies a comparison for the arithmetic. Three new ships are judged a more likely negotiated maximum. Four would give Britain eighteen capital ships: four new ships, four older battlecruisers, five Queen Elizabeths, and five R-class battleships. Eight could make at least 28 knots in the expanded scenario, while the three-new-ship alternative would still provide seven fast capital ships.
Chapter · 54:24-56:35
Treaty tonnage could produce three or four F3-style capital ships
Giving up 16-inch guns could let Britain use its remaining treaty allowance for a larger family of fast 15-inch ships derived from F3 thinking.