The Nelson class's concentrated machinery arrangement and unused internal volume support a bounded refit counterfactual. Once treaty restrictions lapsed, newer boilers and turbines might have produced several extra knots, though probably not Bismarck's full 30 knots. Even 28 or 29 knots could have changed British deployment choices during the Bismarck sortie. A Denmark Strait force built around Rodney and Prince of Wales would have paired nine 16-inch guns with the new battleship and reduced the need to risk Hood in the first interception.
Notable Point · 2:14:22-2:16:53
A faster Nelson class could have changed the Bismarck hunt
Using later machinery to raise Nelson and Rodney toward 28 knots might have let Rodney accompany Prince of Wales at Denmark Strait and reserve Hood for another role.