In the early 1900's William Hovgaard suggested that the best battleship would be large and fast, with good armor and guns

William Hovgaard's crystal ball was pretty accurate. About 30 0r 35 years early, he predicted the fast battleship (or at least recommended it as the best bargain). Don't build battlecruisers, but build "battleship-cruisers", which would be fast, have the biggest guns and the heaviest armor. New developments and larger ships would make the older ships less capable, and they would then be used as ordinary battleships. Why build inferior ships when time would produce them, anyway.