What a 38,000-ton Nelson built around the F3 layout might offer

What might Nelson and Rodney have looked like at 35,000 tons if the Royal Navy used a displacement loophole similar to Lexington's?

At about 38,000 actual tons, they might have reached roughly 28 knots and used an F3-style turret layout with better secondary-gun positioning.

The premise changes from a nominal 35,000 tons to an actual displacement around 38,000 tons, adding roughly 4,200 standard tons to Nelson and Rodney. That margin could support a speed near 28 knots. An F3-derived layout would raise the third turret and improve the secondary battery's arrangement, although the longer configuration would consume more displacement. Britain might also have preferred its existing 16.5-inch gun had the treaty not fixed a 16-inch upper limit. The result remains a treaty-era design tradeoff among speed, compact armor protection, turret placement, and secondary firepower.