In particular, during the Caen campaign Nelson was credited with destroying a group of five Tiger tanks which ventured into a red zone [within 40 km (25 mi) of the coast] deemed by the German command to be in range of Allied battleships.

After World War I, the Admiralty drew up plans for massive, heavily armoured battlecruisers and battleships, far larger and stronger than all previous vessels.

[2][page needed] Development was abruptly curtailed by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which brought the arms race to a halt.

They had argued that having to protect the widespread British Empire meant their ships had to carry more of both and they should not be penalised compared to nations, such as Japan, France and Italy, that operated normally much closer to their home bases.

As a result, water-filled internal anti-torpedo bulges could be incorporated, which did not contribute to the "dry" (standard) weights and therefore did not exceed the treaty displacement limits.

However, in the Nelsons, this was taken further and all three were in front of the bridge; "B" mount superfiring over "A", with "X" turret on the forecastle deck behind "B", and therefore unable to fire directly forward or aft.

[3][page needed] The secondary guns were placed in totally enclosed director-controlled twin turrets at the upper deck level and were grouped aft – another innovative element taken from the G3 and N3 design.

[2][4][page needed] The machinery was of necessity limited in weight, size and installed power, and there were only two shafts with quite large screws.

The turbines were rated at 45,000 shaft horsepower (34,000 kW) and intended to give the ship a maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).

They carried 3,770–3,805 long tons (3,830–3,866 t) of fuel oil to give them a designed range of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at a cruising speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).

Except for the emergency conning tower at its base, and the trunking for the main gun directors mounted on top, the superstructure was lightly armoured against splinters only, to save weight.

The location of the superstructure towards the stern caused manoeuvrability problems in high winds, especially when steaming at low speeds, where the superstructure acted somewhat like a mizzen sail permanently set, causing the ships to "weathervane" but according to Captain Hugh Binney, who commanded Nelson in the late twenties, "if this is kept in mind, no real difficulties should be encountered in any circumstances".

[3][page needed] This was potentially a problem in crowded harbours, and made the ships somewhat difficult to dock and embark although this issue never led to a major incident.

Binney also stated "In the early stages of the ship's first commission, there was a general misconception that the Nelson class were unhandy and difficult to manoeuvre.

The Nelson's innovation was an all-forward main armament orientation, in order to maximize the thickness of armor available for a given weight by making the citadel as short as possible, and this was subsequently copied by the French in the Dunkerque-class and Richelieu-class of battleships.

The need to reduce displacement led to the use of triple mount turrets, which had early problems with the ammunition handling and loading machinery.

[3] The incorporation of many safety features, achieved with lighter materials, meant that the complex and relatively fragile equipment had to be serviced regularly over the ships' lifetime.

Firing trials revealed that the blast of 'A' and 'B' turrets on forward bearings caused damage to many weather-deck fittings and conditions on the mess-decks became very uncomfortable.

[3][citation needed] This was disproved during the action against the German battleship Bismarck, where Rodney fired upwards of 40 broadsides (380 shells) without major structural damage except to deck planking and upper deck fittings,[11][citation needed] although damage to sickbay fittings, partition bulkheads, toilet bowls and plumbing in the forecastle was extensive.

The design of the Captain's bridge was altered on Nelson circa 1930–33 to reduce the window area and enclose the upper portion of the previous two rows of glass.

A great deal of effort was expended in correcting this problem, and fitting of protective ledges below the new smaller windows proved successful.

[4][page needed] In the final phase of the action against Bismarck, Rodney fired a pair of 24.5-inch torpedoes from her port-side tube and claimed one hit.

[18][page needed] Earlier in this same action the starboard side tube had its sluice door jammed as the result of a near miss from one of Bismarck's early salvos.

"According to Winston Churchill's memoirs, a major modernisation was discussed to enable Nelson to serve for several years in the postwar fleet, but no other details have survived.