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For a timeline I'm doing, a war between the Allies and Imperial Japan breaks out during the Phoney War, and the U.S. is not yet willing to intervene. So the scenario is basically the Royal Navy, possibly with French assistance duking it out in the South China Sea with the IJN.

To set an arbitrary date, let's say the battle occurs May 1940. The British probably need to keep the battlecruisers back home to cover against surface raiders, for modernized vessels that pretty much leaves Nelson, Rodney, Valiant and Warspite. I believe some of the Japanese Kongo class vessels were being rebuilt during the time period, so for the Japanese it would be the Nagato and Mutsu, a couple Kongo class battlecruisers, plus the 4 older WWI era dreadnoughts. Aircraft carriers are where the Japanese have their main advantage, four fleet carriers opposed to the Royal Navy's three at best. Nightime doctrine is a strong point of both fleets. Would the Royal Navy bother to bring along the unmodernized R and QE ships? How would they perform? Second Tsushima, or humbling of the mighty Kido Butai?
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