Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:04:23-3:06:03

Would early Lion-class ships make Vanguard unnecessary?

If several 16-inch Lion-class battleships are already in service, Britain has little reason to order the 15-inch Vanguard as an emergency substitute.

HMS VanguardLion Class BattleshipsNaval ProcurementPostwar FleetRoyal Navy
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Question

If the Royal Navy completes several Lion-class battleships early, does it still build HMS Vanguard?

Short answer

Probably not; operational 16-inch Lions remove the need for Vanguard's emergency use of available 15-inch guns and turrets.

Notes

Vanguard historically answers delay in the Lion program by combining an available design opportunity with stored 15-inch guns. In this counterfactual, accelerated construction could place Lion, Temeraire, and Conqueror in service before Vanguard is ordered. Those ships offer comparable speed with 16-inch armament, removing the emergency capability gap Vanguard was meant to fill. Britain might therefore complete more Lions and retain them as its postwar battleship group rather than build Vanguard at all.