Three shafts unlock a genuinely fast Nelson derivative

Could an upgraded Nelson become a fast battleship, and what would a new derivative require?

A refit alone would struggle, but a new three-shaft design with 1930s boilers and turbines could plausibly exceed 28 knots.

Nelson and Rodney's twin-shaft machinery is the central barrier to a large speed increase. Reducing weight helps, but reaching a genuinely higher speed requires new boilers, turbines, and a different shaft arrangement. A treaty replacement designed in the 1930s could incorporate three shafts and substantially more power from the outset. Such a ship might exceed 28 knots and would be operationally very different from simply rebuilding the original hull for a few extra knots.