Three cancelled R-class battleships supplied components for the two new battlecruisers, while the design pursued Fisher's preferred combination of size, speed, and heavy guns. Fisher also used the 1895 Renown as a visual model, asking for a larger ship with a similar bow. Earlier Invincibles had been forced into beamier hulls by the requirement to fire six guns forward, reducing the hydrodynamic efficiency he wanted. Renown provides an unusually clear view of his mature battlecruiser ideal.
Chapter · 0:30-2:40
Fisher's battlecruiser vision in Renown
Renown was built from cancelled R-class components as Lord Fisher's clearest expression of what a British battlecruiser should be.