An R-class battlecruiser counterfactual tests wartime procurement choices

The discussion moves from Ramillies' diverted turrets into an explicit counterfactual about the R-class programme. It imagines converting more hulls along the Renown and Repulse model, which would leave additional 15-inch turrets available and might offset the cost of another battleship. HMS Resistance, cancelled in August 1914, supplies the missing name and hull in this alternative. The passage then considers whether another capital ship could have helped around Jutland or replenished battle-fleet numbers after the battlecruiser losses. It also warns that allowing large-warship construction to stagnate early in a war can delay replacement aircraft carriers when losses occur. This remains a procurement thought experiment rather than an approved wartime plan.