I'm going to be controversial with this one.
The Hood. Imagine what the UK could have done with the WNT with her tonnage freed up. Perhaps get a 3rd Nelson.
Hood was the reason there was not a third
Nelson. She was so far outside the qualitative limit of 35,000 tons, she
was the 'third' ship. In the initial draft of the Washington Treaty's "Ship to be Retained",
Maryland was to be the final US ship,
Hood was the final RN ship and
Nagato was the final IJN ship.
The problem was
Mutsu. She had been paid for by public subscription, and the IJN wasn't about to send her to the breakers and squander all that good will with the public. So the IJN kept her, the RN got an option for two new 35,000 ton ships and the USN was allowed to complete 'two more
West Virginias' (that's what the treaty called them).
I do think if
Hood's proposed Admiral-class sisters had been recast as all-or-nothing armor designs, they would have been very formidable.
As an aside, those of you that visit the BC forum might recognize the user-name Irishopinion. He and I had an interesting conversation offline about
Nelsol and
Rodol and the F2 and F3 battlecruiser designs. I stated I thought the RN went with the O3 (
Nelson) design because of the armor protection after the battlecruiser losses at Jutland. Irishopinion stated that was incorrect, that in the treaty negotiations, the RN wanted to build two
F3 battlecruisers, but once the treaty was signed they felt they were obligated to build 16in armed ships. Imagine the World War 2 RN if
Nelson and
Rodney are 9 x 15in gun and 29 knot ships....
Regards,