What if the King George V Class (1939) were completed as originally scheduled?

Ian_W

Banned
What didn't the British build so that they could be done as planned ?

If the money was shifted from, say, Fighter Command and there were Gladiators instead of Hurricanes, then that would be bad for the Allies in 1940.
 
Do you happen to have those dates?
There you go...

King George V class.png

Each ship was to have been delivered 3.5 years after being laid down.
 

hipper

Banned
The title says it all what if the King George V class were all completed by their planned completion dates and how would it affect WW2?

It would probably help if you mentioned the planned completion Dates I dare say its from from October 1940 to March 1941.

Denmark straight looks a bit different.
 

hipper

Banned
What didn't the British build so that they could be done as planned ?

If the money was shifted from, say, Fighter Command and there were Gladiators instead of Hurricanes, then that would be bad for the Allies in 1940.

manpower was shifted to building Corvettes for all but the KGV and POW, POW was hit by a bomb in dry dock.
 
I if I recall the other major factor that pushed backed the completion date of the KGVs was the change from three quad main battery turrets to two quads and a twin main battery turrets which required six extra months of design work.
 
Denmark straight looks a bit different.
My first guess is that all 5 ships would have been concentrated on the Home Fleet, which would have allowed Hood and Repulse to reinforce Force H at Gibraltar.

My second guess is that Tovey would have covered the Scotland to Iceland with 3 KGVs and sent Holland in command of the other 2 to cover the Denmark Strait.
 
The title says it all what if the King George V class were all completed by their planned completion dates and how would it affect WW2?

A fully worked up Prince of Wales at Denmark Strait might end Bismarck's cruise right there. We could expect a ship in service for nine months to perform better than one fresh from the yards. I'd also expect fewer gun casualties in the turrets, especially due to things such as salvos missed due to problems with the interlocks, the known defect that caused Number 1 gun of A turret not to fire after the first salvo, and loading errors.

Also, five new battleships available in 1941 might mean a different Eastern Fleet for Tom Phillips.

My initial thoughts,
 
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What didn't the British build so that they could be done as planned ?

If the money was shifted from, say, Fighter Command and there were Gladiators instead of Hurricanes, then that would be bad for the Allies in 1940.
The fundamental problem was the poor state the British armaments industry in the middle 1930s. It couldn't cope with the huge increase in demand for its products from circa 1936 onwards.

For a better explanation than the one I am able to write I suggest that you read the copy of British War Production on the Hyperwar website.
 
Would Hood manage to get a refit with more fast capital ships available?
That was the plan of the Admiralty at the time indeed their were plans to rebuild her ala Renown. And Rodney probably could of had her planned full length refit in the USA instead of her expidited one she got otl which would have dramatically helped her in the later years of the war
 
I if I recall the other major factor that pushed backed the completion date of the KGVs was the change from three quad main battery turrets to two quads and a twin main battery turrets which required six extra months of design work.
The delay for the KGV is iirc two fold.

1. Turret issues, a shift from three treble 15 inch guns to two quads and a twin 14 inch gun. This led to a delay of few months.

2. Shifting of manpower to other causes (corvettes merchant ships war time repairs etc).

Fixing item 1 but leaving item 2 might be a more realistic option.

However if fix everything and have all five in service I would imagine that the numbers game would have led to the Germans not sortieing with Bismarck and instead we would end up with Bismarck spending the rest of the war hiding off the coast of Norway with Tirpitz.
 
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