Q&A · 3:31:51-3:33:42

What would follow the G3 and N3 capital ships?

A design-process answer uses annual building cycles and available studies to narrow the plausible successors to G3 and N3.

Question

Why assume the Royal Navy would build more G3-type ships after the N3s, and what would the next design actually be?

Short answer

A following annual program had to derive from designs already developed, but could be a 16.5-inch fast ship, an 18-inch battleship, or an F2/F3-style arrangement rather than a literal repeat G3.

Notes

The panel rejects certainty about a repeat G3 while explaining why the next ship could not be wholly new. Annual construction required designers to draw from advanced studies already on the stocks, including G3, N3, F2, and F3 arrangements. Gun caliber, speed, and turret grouping remained open choices, but the speed with which F-series studies reached detail suggests they were serious candidates.