The Royal Navy fleet Britain expected by 1942

What capital-ship strength did the Royal Navy expect if war began in 1941 or 1942?

It was building toward about 24 to 25 capital ships, adding modern classes while retaining and modernizing much of the existing fleet.

New construction was intended to enlarge the fleet before it replaced most older units. Five King George V-class ships, several Lions, and possibly Vanguard could join the existing fifteen capital ships by 1942. Hood and the Queen Elizabeth class were candidates for modernization, while even Repulse might be retained if foreign construction made numbers more urgent. The R class would begin leaving only as later ships and additional Vanguard-type hulls appeared. Britain was therefore building toward roughly twenty-four or twenty-five capital ships rather than planning a simple one-for-one renewal.