Q&A · 1:55:35-1:56:45

What replaces the lost battlecruisers?

A close-range Channel battle favors the fast battleship: enough speed to perform battlecruiser work, but armor suited to fleet action.

Question

How would the Royal Navy rebuild after losing so many battlecruisers in a close-range Channel action?

Short answer

It would probably favor fast, heavily armored battleships derived from the Queen Elizabeth concept, with later designs informed by the battle's damage evidence.

Notes

The immediate replacement program would draw on the Queen Elizabeth design instead of reproducing lightly protected battlecruisers caught at short range. The likely ships would make roughly 28 knots or more, carry battleship armor, and use guns larger than the existing 15-inch weapon as Britain continued its qualitative competition with the United States, Japan, and Italy. The exact calibre remains uncertain. The design direction points toward fast battleships informed by the Channel losses.