Capital ships sit on a spectrum defined by tradeoffs among firepower, armour, and speed, rather than in airtight battleship and battlecruiser boxes. Fifth Battle Squadron's apparent victory could move the Admiral class toward the fast-battleship centre of that spectrum. A 45,000-ton, 28-knot ship with battleship protection and 15-inch, 16.5-inch, or even 18-inch guns would be harder for American planners to dismiss as a battlecruiser that their battle line could simply overpower. Several completed British ships of that kind would have to be counted directly in American construction plans. Postwar negotiators might therefore raise treaty limits, change permitted armament, or find agreement harder to reach at all.
Chapter · 2:05:33-2:07:54
How fast battleships could complicate the postwar balance
A large, fast British capital ship with battleship protection could force American planners and treaty makers to address a threat they could not dismiss as a lightly protected battlecruiser.