Design studies for a global cruiser that could fight German battlecruisers

Queen Mary had already restored traditional aft officer accommodation and carried far more meaningful protection than the Invincible and Indefatigable lines, setting Tiger's immediate design inheritance. The official studies retained eight 13.5-inch guns while varying secondary batteries, ammunition allowances, machinery, and the possibility of reaching 30 knots. British battlecruisers had originally emphasized global cruising and sea control, whereas German ships expected to fight through the North Sea and carried more of a second-line-battleship character. Tiger became expensive because she had to perform the British global role and also survive combat with German battlecruisers. Removing three boilers from the fastest study released weight for protection and subdivision, nudging the final ship toward the fast-battleship end of the spectrum.