Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 48:56-49:32

When the Vanguard idea becomes a design

A short procurement-history answer separates Vanguard's early recycled-armament proposal from the ship's later design development.

BattleshipsCourageous Class BattlecruisersHMS VanguardNaval ProcurementRoyal NavyShip Design
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Question

Was HMS Vanguard already a developed emergency fast-capital-ship design in March 1939?

Short answer

Not yet. The March 1939 proposal described a way to assemble a battleship quickly, while design studies and the developed ship followed after war began.

Notes

The answer clarifies the difference between a ship design and a promising concept. The March 1939 idea was to obtain a battleship quickly with available components from the Courageous class and possibly the R class. It had not yet matured into a design study. That distinction limits how rapidly an alternate war could produce a Vanguard-type ship.