Did Hood and the G3 design mark the transition from battlecruisers to fast battleships?
Short answerNo: their designers still intended battlecruiser missions such as commerce protection, raiding, and fast-group support rather than service as the battle line's armored core.
NotesHood and G3 could outperform older battleships without becoming fast battleships in design intent. They sit on a spectrum, but their classification follows the work the Navy expected them to do: global high-speed duties, commerce protection, raiding, and defeating other battlecruisers. Their internal structure and framing still leaned toward the battlecruiser side of that spectrum. David Beatty's position as First Sea Lord also favored preserving the battlecruiser concept because replacing it could imply criticism of his wartime command. In this account, true fast battleships emerged only when late-1930s machinery could deliver high speed without sacrificing battle-line armor.