The Queen Elizabeth class appears here as a conservative version of the best ship Britain could build, while the R class takes a conservative route to numbers. A triple-turret Queen Elizabeth-type ship could combine twelve 15-inch guns with oil firing and a speed of about 28 knots. Deleting one mounting for the R-class derivative would save length and machinery demand while still leaving nine 15-inch guns in an A-B-X arrangement. That cheaper ship would retain more firepower than any contemporary battleship and could be built in greater numbers. A common triple mounting could therefore support a high-end fast battleship and a more economical fleet standard.
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Triple turrets for Queen Elizabeth and R-class battleships
A triple-turret Royal Navy could pair twelve-gun fast Queen Elizabeth-type ships with more numerous nine-gun R-class ships while retaining formidable firepower.