Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:56:55

When 13.5-inch and 14-inch battlecruisers become liabilities

Older battlecruisers become strategically awkward once every rival fields larger guns and modern postwar capital ships.

BattlecruisersHMS Tiger (1913)Kongo Class BattlecruisersNaval Arms RaceNaval Gunnery
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Question

When would treaty-free navies recognise their older 13.5-inch and 14-inch battlecruisers as liabilities?

Short answer

Probably in the late 1920s, once new fleets were dominated by 15-inch and larger guns.

Notes

The turning point arrives in the late 1920s under a no-treaty construction race. Japanese and American 14-inch ships and British 13.5-inch ships would then face fleets dominated by 15-inch, 16-inch, and possibly larger weapons. Their speed and existing hulls might still offer secondary value, but they would no longer match the new battle line. Continuous construction would expose their relative obsolescence much earlier than the historical treaty system did.