Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 4:15:35-4:19:41

Hood built as a K3 battlecruiser

Building Hood to the K3 design implies a full class of 60,000-ton ships and likely prevents the Washington treaty settlement.

HMS HoodK3 BattlecruiserNaval Arms RaceRoyal NavyWashington Naval Treaty
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Question

What effect would Hood have if built as a one-off, 60,000-ton K3 battlecruiser?

Short answer

The one-off premise is rejected in favour of a full class whose 18-inch guns would provoke foreign construction and prevent the historical Washington settlement.

Notes

Alex rejects the proposed one-for-one replacement of Hood: adopting K3 would, in his view, mean completing the whole class. Four ships of about 60,000 tons with nine 18-inch guns each would leave the United States and Japan seeking equivalents. That disparity is the reason he expects the historical Washington settlement to fail. American completion of the earlier South Dakota programme is raised as one possible response.