How did the cost of the Renown class compare with the Admiral class?
Short answerHood cost about twice as much as Renown, so the Royal Navy could plausibly trade one highly ambitious ship for two proven fast capital ships.
NotesAllowing for wartime inflation and accounting differences, the comparison is roughly £3.1 million for Renown against about £6 million for Hood. Continuing a proven Renown programme might therefore have delivered two fast capital ships for the resources absorbed by one Admiral-class ship.