Why British capital-ship planning was about growth, not simple replacement

How many fast battleships did the Royal Navy plan around World War II?

At least eleven new King George V and Lion-class ships were in the immediate sequence, with successors and retained refits expanding the plan further.

British and American planning systems recorded future fleets differently. Congress required the United States to authorize programmes farther ahead, while the Royal Navy could prepare a class and leave its successor less formally defined. Britain had five King George V-class ships and six Lions in the immediate sequence, with Vanguard available as a wartime expedient rather than the normal next class. A later design might have carried twelve sixteen-inch guns, and eventual rearmament of the King George Vs was technically possible. New construction would overlap refitted older ships until replacements were worked up and reliable. The result was an evolving growth plan rather than a single published number comparable with the American seventeen-ship programme.