Comments by "" (@RedXlV) on "The Drydock - Episode 270 (Part 1)" video.

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  3. A refit replacing the 6" twin turrets with 5.25" dual-purpose mounts (or 4.5" BD as on Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, and Renown for that matter) would've been fairly unlikely, just like how it was for the real-life Nelsons. Because as the newest capital ships, they'd be near the back of the line for getting a major refit. That said, even with fairly minimum refits pre-WW2, the F3s would've been extremely useful ships, on account of being easily fast enough to keep pace with the KGVs. Plus, it would've been a great help to logistics, since the 15"/50 would've used the same shells as the existing 15"/42. And given the highly questionable lightweight shells that were chosen for the IRL Nelsons' 16"/45, the reduction in firepower by using the 15"/50 instead is isn't nearly as bad as you'd expect from an inch smaller caliber. The British 16" shell is only 110 lb heavier with 2.7 lb larger bursting charge compared to the new 15" shell that the Royal Navy adopted in the interwar period. The other potential impact of the Nelsons being built to the F3 design is that with another pair of impressively well-armed fast capital ships to send around the world, Hood's workload should probably have been reduced during the interwar period. Meaning she both would've have gotten as worn down and would've probably gotten an additional refit at some point pre-WW2. Oh, and also the potential impact on the King George V class. If 15" was already the only caliber used by the Royal Navy's capital ships, I wonder if there would've been significantly harder push to adopt one of the designs with 15" rather than 14" guns. If that did end up happening, that removes the considerable teething problems that the KGVs' quad turrets had. Which might have led to much better performance by Prince of Wales at Denmark Strait, since the new 15" guns and triple turrets would simply need to be refinements of the by then well-proven weapons of the F3s. And if Hood were also replaced in that battle by an F3, with its superior firepower and protection? Bismarck would've probably fared very poorly, having no viable option other than using her 2 knot speed advantage over PoW in an attempt to flee.
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