Crusader-class Battlecruiser

The Crusader-class was a class of two battlecruisers built for the Elipian Royal Navy between 1910 and 1911 and were the first battlecruisers accepted into service with the Royal Navy. While the concept of a fast, lightweight battleship already existed within the Admiralty, the Crusaders were only ordered as a response to the (falsified) reports made by the Hosh navy on their new battleships which they claimed could reach 40 knots. 

The design challenges faced by its designers were considerable, as they must be armed with 14'' (later 16'') guns and were required to at least reach 35 knots, a speed previously only attainable by destroyers and other small craft, all while and ensure it would have enough longitudinal strength to withstand bending forces underway and the added stresses on its structure associated with combat.

At no point during its construction did anyone consider the possibility that the Hosh were either lying or that they were making their ships out of cardboard. 

In the late 1920s, the two Crusaders underwent their first refit which included improving their gun elevation, torpedo bulges, tripod masts and an additional 4000 tons of additional armor which reduced their speed to 30 knots, along with a reclassification to a standard battleship. In the late 1930s both ships underwent a second massive reconstruction which saw the addition of dual-purpose guns at the expense of the 6'' secondaries, the removal of some boilers and completely new engines which allowed them to reach 33 knots, and were reclassified again as fast battleships. 

Displacement: 45,000 t 

Length:
Waterline: 265.6m
Overall: 273.9m

Beam: 30.9m

Draft: 9.1m

Installed Power: 

180,000 shp (130,000 kW)
16 water-tube boilers

Propulsion:
4 screws; 4 steam turbines

Speed:
34 knots 

Range:
10,000nmi (19,000km) at 10 knots (19km/h)

Compliment:
~1300 officers and men (Great War)

Armaments:
4 × 16” (406.4mm)/35 cal. guns in two two-gun turrets
6 × 16” (406.4mm)/35 cal. guns in two three-gun turrets
26 × 6” (152.4mm)/30 cal. guns in twenty-six single-gun casemate turrets
4 × 5” (127mm)/45 cal. DP guns in four single mounts
8 × .50cal AA guns in eight single mounts

Armor: 
Belt: 127mm to 178mm
Barbettes: 127mm to 229mm
Deck: 38mm to 57mm 
Turrets: 279mm

Aircraft:
1 floatplane; 1 catapult

Inspired by a number of battlecruisers, mainly the Lexington and the Kongou, with a bit from the Invincible and Hood. I was told a longer hull would allow a larger ship to travel faster at the cost of a larger turning radius which is the reason for the rather modern(by that I mean late WWII standards) looking bow on a WWI ship