Q&A · 35:16-35:38

Lion-class dominion ships make Dogger Bank more dangerous

Replacing Australia and New Zealand with Lion-class battlecruisers raises the Allied weight at Dogger Bank and makes postwar disposal harder to justify.

Question

What if HMAS Australia and HMS New Zealand had been Lion-class battlecruisers?

Short answer

Dogger Bank would be more dangerous for the Germans, and the larger ships would be much harder to give up after the war.

Notes

The counterfactual gives the British force larger and more powerful dominion battlecruisers at Dogger Bank, increasing the danger to the German squadron. Ships of Lion-class value would also be politically and strategically harder to surrender after the First World War. The tactical advantage continues into the later fleet-retention debate.