Despite the cost, there was still a place for a medium caliber-armed cruiser prior to 1914 and beyond

I believe that the design work in Britain for a medium caliber-armed fast armored cruiser was worthwhile. While such ships were relatively costly, as they were cast as 9.2in gun-armed battlecruisers (essentially), they deserved to be built in some numbers. For overseas service, the aging collection of vessels built by William H. White were inadequate against the modern German cruisers being deployed abroad. The key point is that the new cruiser type needed higher speed, and could make some sacrifices to achieve that speed. This is the Springsharp report for my "quick and dirty" design for such a ship:

GB/CA/1912, Great Britain Armoured Cruiser laid down 1912 (Engine 1927)

Displacement:
 15,328 t light; 16,200 t standard; 17,805 t normal; 19,088 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 600.98 ft / 600.00 ft x 75.00 ft x 24.00 ft (normal load)
 183.18 m / 182.88 m x 22.86 m  x 7.32 m

Armament:
      12 - 9.20" / 234 mm guns (6x2 guns), 389.34lbs / 176.60kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline, evenly spread, all raised mounts
      12 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1912 Model
   Quick firing guns in casemate mounts 
   on side, all amidships
   12 guns in hull casemates - Limited use in heavy seas
 Weight of broadside 5,968 lbs / 2,707 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 5.00" / 127 mm 360.00 ft / 109.73 m 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
 Ends: 3.00" / 76 mm 240.00 ft / 73.15 m 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
   Main Belt covers 92 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  1.50" / 38 mm 360.00 ft / 109.73 m 23.00 ft / 7.01 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 7.00" / 178 mm 4.00" / 102 mm  6.00" / 152 mm
 2nd: 3.00" / 76 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 6.00" / 152 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 74,779 shp / 55,786 Kw = 28.00 kts
 Range 8,500nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 2,888 tons

Complement:
 769 - 1,001

Cost:
 £1.494 million / $5.974 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 746 tons, 4.2 %
 Armour: 4,959 tons, 27.9 %
    - Belts: 1,674 tons, 9.4 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 460 tons, 2.6 %
    - Armament: 1,545 tons, 8.7 %
    - Armour Deck: 1,192 tons, 6.7 %
    - Conning Tower: 88 tons, 0.5 %
 Machinery: 2,360 tons, 13.3 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 7,263 tons, 40.8 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,476 tons, 13.9 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   26,404 lbs / 11,977 Kg = 67.8 x 9.2 " / 234 mm shells or 3.9 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.03
 Metacentric height 3.4 ft / 1.0 m
 Roll period: 17.1 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 57 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.98
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.14

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.577
 Length to Beam Ratio: 8.00 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 24.49 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 26.00 ft / 7.92 m
    - Mid (67 %):  26.00 ft / 7.92 m (18.00 ft / 5.49 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 18.00 ft / 5.49 m
    - Stern:  18.00 ft / 5.49 m
    - Average freeboard: 23.52 ft / 7.17 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 103.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 189.8 %
 Waterplane Area: 32,211 Square feet or 2,992 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 114 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 147 lbs/sq ft or 716 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.95
  - Longitudinal: 1.52
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent