Video
A Historical Possibility: Triple Turret Potentiality (Battleships Lost at Jutland)
Study A Historical Possibility: Triple Turret Potentiality (Battleships Lost at Jutland), a Dr. Alex Clarke video from 20 May 2022, with 22 time notes. Topics include Alternate History, Battle Of Jutland, Battleships.
Time notes
- 0:36Replacing three battleships lost at JutlandChapter
The premise asks how Britain might react if German destroyer torpedoes had sunk three battleships at Jutland instead of three battlecruisers.
- 2:32An emergency British twelve-gun battleshipNotable Point
A rapid British replacement design combines twelve 15-inch guns with unusually heavy 4-inch and 6-inch secondary batteries for destroyer defence.
- 5:40Emergency construction versus industrial limitsNotable Point
The scenario assumes Britain would rush four exceptionally powerful replacements, while German industrial capacity makes additional complex turret construction less certain.
- 12:01QuestionCould Britain easily have afforded at least three of the four Audacious-class carriers?AnswerQ&A
Yes. Postwar restraint deferred investment while technology matured and debt fell, although Britain retained the capacity to fund a later carrier-building surge.
- 13:29QuestionHow might early Royal Navy triple turrets have changed battlecruiser and battleship layouts?AnswerQ&A
They could free weight and length for armour or speed, but the chosen layout would depend on money, dockyard capacity, and how exceptional the ship was meant to be.
- 15:57QuestionWas there a decision never to name another Royal Navy ship HMS Hood after the 1941 sinking?AnswerQ&A
The evidence is debated. An informal decision against immediate reuse appears likely, while a permanent rule remains unconfirmed.
- 16:35Politics behind Royal Navy turret choicesNotable Point
The resistance to triple turrets may have been political as much as technical, with strong personalities shaping what the Admiralty would accept.
- 18:46How British armament competition shaped designsNotable Point
Competition among continental firms is set against the unusually intense Vickers and Armstrong rivalry for British naval contracts.
- 20:24QuestionWould HMS Tiger's hull have been better suited to three triple turrets?AnswerQ&A
Possibly. The idea needs primary research in the Newcastle and Govan archives before it can be judged confidently.
- 21:15QuestionWere British triple-turret battlecruiser studies consulting work for an Imperial Russian contract?AnswerQ&A
It is possible, although the apparent Royal Navy context makes a domestic design connection at least as important.
- 22:32QuestionWhy did Britain choose the 13.5-inch gun instead of a 14-inch gun for its first super-dreadnoughts?AnswerQ&A
Manufacturer competition was decisive: the more attractive available gun came from Armstrong, while Vickers was pushing the 14-inch alternative.
- 25:26QuestionWould a capital ship with only two twin or triple main turrets have been a plausible solution?AnswerQ&A
Such concepts existed. Three triple turrets, with two forward and one aft, are more plausible for the Royal Navy design being discussed.
- 26:07QuestionCould several smaller radar-directed battleships defeat a larger battleship?AnswerQ&A
Potentially. Damage to a capital ship's radar can cripple its fighting effectiveness, as North Cape demonstrated.
- 32:50Triple turrets for a Queen Mary-type battlecruiserNotable Point
A redesigned Queen Mary could use three triple turrets to preserve or improve protection and speed, but each gain has a displacement cost.
- 36:44Admiralty conservatism amid rapid technological changeChapter
The video weighs institutional conservatism against the practical difficulty of making naval decisions while propulsion, gunnery, aviation, radio, and fleet design all changed at once.
- 40:54Coal, oil, and the Royal Navy's global support problemNotable Point
Triple turrets and oil firing had to be judged against the Royal Navy's worldwide dockyard and fuel network as well as the ship's paper performance.
- 43:33Beam, torpedo protection, and the risks of new turretsNotable Point
A wider hull may help a coal-fired ship's proportions and underwater protection, but triples bring support and fire-control risks during a period of rapid gunnery change.
- 46:52Orion's beam, stability, and torpedo protection disputeNotable Point
The Orion-class design debate set underwater protection against the Naval Staff's preference for low metacentric height, fine hull proportions, and limited machinery growth.
- 48:54Trading two knots for much heavier armourNotable Point
After the design exercise, the emergency battleship drops from 30 to 28 knots and reallocates roughly 3,000 tons to armour.
- 51:08QuestionHow should apparently conflicting historical range and fuel figures be interpreted?AnswerQ&A
Compare the speed and load assumptions first. Operating figures and practical fuel capacity can differ markedly from a single published headline number.
- 57:17Triple turrets for Queen Elizabeth and R-class battleshipsChapter
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.
- 1:00:31Why naval superiority had to look unmistakableChapter
The closing argument calls for a visibly decisive British lead over Germany that would discourage further naval competition.