Chapter · 47:57-53:29

Fast Nelsons would give Britain a sustainable six-ship mobile force

Adding two 28-knot Nelsons to Hood, Tiger, Renown, and Repulse would allow regular deployments and refits without making any single fast ship indispensable.

Notes

Tiger could not receive 15-inch guns under the treaty, but she could join Hood, Renown, Repulse, and the two proposed fast Nelsons in a six-ship pool. A one-in-three cycle would place ships in long maintenance, working up or down, and operational service, leaving two available for deployment. Rotating imperial cruises could demonstrate British reach in regions without a permanently based battle fleet. Speed would allow this limited force to arrive rapidly and concentrate where needed. Sharing deployments across six ships would also reduce wear and make major modernizations easier to schedule. Insufficient deployable ships is one proposed explanation for Renown alone receiving a modernization to late-1930s standards, despite available yard capacity and funding from 1937.