Winston Churchill's influence in 1911-1914

Winston Churchill assumed the position of First Lord of the Admiralty in late 1911. He immediately consulted with Admiral Fisher, who was in retirement. Admiral Fisher vigorously promoted the use of all-oil fuel. Churchill asked if the battlecruiser Tiger might be modified to use oil fuel only, but the DNC, Sir Philip Watts was somewhat resistant, since the Tiger design assumed that coal would be available to provide additional protection. Still, the Tiger was improved by providing more power (108,000 SHP) and a higher speed (30 knots). In the end, she also proved to be greatly overweight. The 1912 ship were equipped with oil fuel only, but that might well have been extended to include the Tiger and the Iron Duke class ships, if the DNC had been more receptive. The other major innovations under Churchill were the Queen Elizabeth class fast battleships with oil fuel, nominally 25 knot speed, and 15inch guns.