Q&A: what would the capital ships do during Sea Lion?

What role would Nelson and Rodney have played if Operation Sea Lion went ahead?

They were intended to enter the Channel with Hood and use their heavy guns to destroy the invasion force and its supporting targets.

Operation Sea Lion would have forced Britain to risk its most valuable capital ships close to home. The intended response included Nelson, Rodney, and Hood moving into the Channel together. Their task would be to destroy invasion shipping and shore-linked targets until the German assault had no viable force left. Mines, aircraft, submarines, and coastal waters would make that extremely dangerous, but preventing invasion would justify risks avoided in ordinary operations. The answer reveals how a two-ship class could be held back in peacetime yet committed without reserve in a national emergency.