The projected HMS Agincourt carries 18-inch guns, while the follow-on Admiral class would have eight such guns in four twin turrets and aim for about 28 to 30 knots. Because these ships would begin as fast battleships, Jutland's battlecruiser losses could confirm their design approach and avoid delays caused by changing it. All four Admirals could therefore be complete by 1919 or 1920 alongside Agincourt, with at least four of those five ships exceeding 40,000 tons. Britain would seek to retain those five 18-inch ships, five Queen Elizabeths, eight R-class battleships, and possibly Tiger at Washington. Agincourt, Tiger, and the four Admirals would form the fast wing, accepting less speed for the protection expected of the new fast battleships. Accommodating that force could raise the treaty's capital-ship gun limit to 18 inches and force other naval powers to reconsider their plans. These consequences depend on the speculative Agincourt reconstruction and the completion of its projected successors.
Chapter · 2:09:28-2:14:08
The postwar legacy of an 18-inch-gun fleet
An 18-inch HMS Agincourt and four fast Admiral-class battleships would give Britain a powerful fast wing and force the Washington Naval Treaty to accommodate a radically different capital-ship baseline.