Designing a battleship in a peaceful 1942

What battleship design suits a country in 1942 that expects five more years of peace?

He proposes twelve 16-inch guns, a strong 5- or 5.5-inch dual-purpose battery, about 32 knots, and a 16-inch belt.

The large available dry docks allow a fast, heavily armed ship rather than forcing an extreme compromise. The preference for a substantial dual-purpose secondary battery reflects the growing need to combine surface and anti-aircraft defence in one weapon system. A later 50,000-ton prompt produces almost the same main battery and about 30 knots, showing how these requirements converge even when the design brief changes. The watch point is useful for seeing displacement as capacity for a balanced package rather than as a goal by itself.