The R class and Britain's fast-capital-ship alternative

Two British capital-ship lines are often reduced to the same initial. The Revenge or R-class battleships followed the Queen Elizabeth class but represent a disappointing turn in this account, while Renown and Repulse show that Britain could still produce very fast capital ships. A consistent decision to build fast battleships might have removed the need for a separate battlecruiser category. In that alternative design path, Hood could have emerged as a very large First World War fast battleship rather than the familiar battlecruiser.