German 17-inch guns and the British response

How would larger German guns on Scharnhorst and Bismarck affect their performance and British construction?

The gains would be offset by lengthy gun development, while British intelligence could use the threat to keep Lion and Temeraire building alongside completion of the King George V class.

Germany chose available weapons partly to avoid delaying hulls, and moving to new 12- or 17-inch systems would demand development time. Because Britain would likely discover the program, the strategic result could be more British heavy construction rather than an uncontested German advantage.