Q&A ยท 3:27:51-3:28:16

Treaty replacement priorities for British capital ships

A hypothetical replacement treaty keeps useful battlecruisers longer while retiring older British battleships in age order.

Question

In what order would Britain replace the Iron Duke, 1911 King George V, and surviving battlecruiser classes under a seven-year treaty cycle?

Short answer

Broadly by age, with the battlecruisers retained until later because they remained especially useful in peacetime.

Notes

Under the proposed replacement treaty, the older battleships would broadly leave service in age order. The surviving battlecruisers would probably remain until later because of their greater peacetime usefulness. Those useful roles give them a reason to survive beyond ships of similar age. The prediction concerns the hypothetical treaty's replacement cycle.