Britain was balancing a quantitative race with Germany and a qualitative technology race with the United States, Japan, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. A maximal ship with ten 15-inch guns, 28 knots, and a much larger secondary battery would have reset foreign requirements. Against the contemporary Derfflingers, it would have combined superior speed with battleship protection and enough 15-inch firepower to make the existing German battlecruiser programme strategically obsolete. That result might also have strengthened the Kaiser's case for overriding army priorities and funding a more expensive naval response. Holding back some achievable capability could preserve an advantage without immediately forcing Britain to pay for the next round of competition.
Notable Point · 42:09-47:07
Why not build the maximal fast battleship?
A 28-knot, ten-gun Queen Elizabeth could have overwhelmed contemporary German battlecruisers, but it might also have provoked a more expensive international response.