At 19 knots, Renown could operate more readily with cruisers than most contemporary battleships. Her hull lines and prominent air intakes reflect a design shaped around speed and flagship work. In this interpretation, she was an early expression of a fast, command-capable capital ship, although the later battlecruiser was a different type. During the First World War R-class programme, Fisher cut three planned battleships to produce two battlecruisers and insisted that Renown would be completed. The resulting Renown class carried forward the name and the idea of his favoured fast flagship. This connection concerns purpose and Fisher's preferences rather than identical design ancestry.
Notable Point · 3:33-7:33
A fast flagship before the battlecruiser era
Renown's speed and flagship role anticipated Fisher's later fast capital ship thinking, while his attachment to the name connects her with the Renown class battlecruisers.