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The G-3's were far better than anything the rest of the world had to offer at the time, one shudders at the original Lexington class armor scheme in her BC guise despite their potent 16" guns, she made Hood look tough. The brits however should have stuck with their excellent 15"/42 gun rather than developing the new 16"/45 and 14'/45 guns. The KGV's would have been very potent with 3x3 15" guns.
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I don't doubt that. However the fact that the Nelsons were built under Treaty limits caused several design compromises which severely affected her performance. Not being able to fire dead on is a very big disadvantage. IMO, the Brits should have insisted that they be able to not only build 2 16" gunboats, but build them outside Treaty limits.
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The Rodney did a good number on the Bismarck which dispite having her rudder damaged was still a potent threat.
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The instructions the engineers gave regarding the effect of simultaneou firung and firing dead on were ignored by the crew in the Bismarck engagement. They did almost as much damage to the Rodney as to the Bismarck.
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The brits however should have stuck with their excellent 15"/42 gun rather than developing the new 16"/45 and 14'/45 guns. The KGV's would have been very potent with 3x3 15" guns.
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Hmmm... no doubt the 15'/42 was an excellent weapon, but the 16'/45 was poorly designed. In theory that should have been the weapon of choice. The 14"/45 seems to have been influenced mainly by the British desire to have as many guns as possible on a ship.