Q&A · 6:42-7:28

An eight-ship fast-battleship alternative

A counterfactual Queen Elizabeth successor force shows why a full squadron of fast battleships could compete with battlecruiser priorities.

Question

What if Britain built eight fast Queen Elizabeth successors instead of shifting toward battlecruisers?

Short answer

A full 28-knot battle squadron would be very useful and might be difficult to cancel, even against Fisher's battlecruiser preferences.

Notes

Eight roughly 28-knot battleships would give the Royal Navy an entire fast battle line. A programme that large would be difficult to halt once construction began, even with Fisher pressing for battlecruisers. The squadron could fight with the battle fleet while retaining much of the speed that made battlecruisers attractive. The counterfactual separates the broad utility of fast battleships from the more specialized logic behind battlecruiser construction.