A 24-knot battle line would raise the speed demanded of cruiser attack forces, with about 30 knots proposed for that role. Earlier gun funding could also shift the progression from 14-inch weapons to 15.5-inch or 16-inch guns in Orion equivalents, followed by still larger calibres in the Queen Elizabeth generation. The possible later ships range widely because the next usable gun depends on which development projects succeed. A Queen Elizabeth equivalent might aim for 30 knots and achieve 28, just as the historical design fell short of its intended speed. Funded shell and armour trials could supply Greenboy-equivalent ammunition from the outset, avoiding the need for the later corrective shell programme. A 28-knot ship carrying twelve 18-inch guns is tentatively estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 tons. Britain's 1910 shipyard-upgrade cycle could respond to this growth in requirements. Foreign responses and the results of intermediate trials make a precise third-generation design impossible to predict.
Notable Point · 2:12:44-2:21:39
Jellicoe and the compounding capital-ship race
Once the first faster Dreadnought exists, later designs could seek larger guns, faster battlecruisers, better shells, and yard expansions to support them.