Infrastructure growth points toward 70,000-ton capital ships

What might a British capital ship look like after another early-1920s infrastructure upgrade?

It could approach 65,000 to 70,000 tons and carry guns in the 16.5- to 18-inch range.

A roughly six-year infrastructure-upgrade cycle is used to estimate the capital ships Britain could have built after Hood. Each expansion is assumed to support about two generations of ships, with capacity rising by roughly half at a time. The sequence runs from about 20,000 tons through 30,000 tons to Hood's roughly 45,000-ton scale. Another comparable expansion gives about 67,500 tons, supporting the estimate of a 65,000- to 70,000-ton successor with 16.5- or 18-inch guns. This is an extrapolation from yard capacity and missed wartime upgrade cycles.