A 400,000-ton station-cruiser allowance rewards navies that can hold each ship to about 18,000 tons, while a 40,000-ton capital-ship ceiling changes battleship design. Britain already has ten Queen Elizabeth and R-class ships that might make 26 knots in this scenario, enough to dictate range against the slower American standard battle line. Nelson and Rodney could use the extra treaty displacement for a three-shaft arrangement and roughly 28 knots rather than accepting their historical speed. Renown and Repulse, fitted with more efficient small-tube boilers, might become extraordinarily fast, showing how the original cruiser experiment propagates into several later generations of capital ships.
Notable Point · 2:06:00-2:08:59
Treaty tonnage produces faster capital ships
A 40,000-ton capital-ship ceiling and successful small-tube machinery could yield faster Nelsons, Renowns, and a formidable British battle line.