Mackensen's 350 mm guns and 28-knot design made it a credible fast capital ship. Its threat to Britain depended partly on the absence of a 15-inch successor to Tiger. Tiger's denser subdivision and greater armour coverage suggest a different route to an Admiral-class design than following Renown's principles. In that counterfactual, building 15-inch ships on Tiger's principles might have reduced redesign work enough to complete all four Admirals during the war. The historical Admirals emerged from a shallow-draught Queen Elizabeth requirement and British intelligence that incorrectly credited Mackensen with 15-inch guns. Hood consequently offered heavier firepower, somewhat greater speed and strong protection against the actual Mackensen design. The reported German specification more closely resembled Ersatz Yorck.
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Mackensen intelligence helped shape the Admiral-class response
Overstated reports of Mackensen's armament helped produce a British response with more firepower and speed than the German ship actually required.