From R-class battleship to battlecruiser

This watch point follows the wartime decision to reshape a battleship-derived design into a faster battlecruiser. Removing one turret, lengthening the hull, and spreading protection over the greater length converted the R-class basis into Renown and Repulse. The cancelled Resistance shows that a third hull was available in principle, but policy ended the project only a month into the war. Devonport's rapid construction of Royal Oak makes that cancellation especially striking because the yard could plausibly have delivered another useful capital ship. The comparison makes clear that speed, armour distribution, dockyard capacity, and the availability of follow-on ships were intertwined choices.