What could Admiral Henderson plausibly do with HMS Iron Duke in 1937?
Short answerA costly modernization could make her a useful escort, reserve, or Far East command ship, but her 21-knot speed prevents a first-line fast-battleship role.
NotesHMS Tiger offered more scope for reconstruction because she already had the speed that Iron Duke lacked. Iron Duke's roughly 21-knot design would need new engines and boilers to become a useful escort battleship, and the cost raises doubts about the value of the work. The proposed gunnery-training disguise permits a mixed modern armament, including twin 14-inch turrets forward and heavy anti-aircraft guns elsewhere. Other suggestions remove the central turret, convert the ship to oil firing, and improve the secondary battery. Convoy escort, a Mediterranean reserve role, or Far East command duties could release other capital ships for more demanding work. In the Far East, even this older battleship could force Japan to commit a Kongo-class ship to oppose her. Command facilities remain a constraint: the existing flagship accommodation would be cramped by Second World War expectations.