One historian calls Vanguard a fully armoured battlecruiser, distinguishing it from the King George V and Lion designs described as British fast battleships. The other uses fast battleship more broadly for a ship capable of fighting in the line while maintaining high speed. They also dispute whether that broad threshold should be about 25 or 28 knots. Scharnhorst, Dunkerque and the rebuilt Cavour and Duilio classes enter the comparison because their capabilities fit the wider category. Hood and the proposed F3s are judged capable opponents for those ships, especially if the hypothetical F3 armament included improved 15-inch guns. The disagreement concerns the meaning assigned to the category as well as the ships' physical capabilities.
Notable Point · 56:46-58:16
Vanguard and F3 expose competing definitions of fast battleship
The historians disagree over whether British design categories or a broader combination of battle-line capability and speed should determine the label.