The likely fleets combine carriers with battleships because governments will not gamble national security on an immature system. Admirals in the 1930s can see that aviation is coming, but their available aircraft have not yet displaced the proven gun ship. A minimum speed around 28 knots pushes new construction toward fast battleships, while Vanguard represents a faster fully armored battlecruiser line that may become a one-off once its eight 15-inch guns look too light. Japanese 18-inch guns then trigger rapid British and American responses followed by larger prestige designs across the dictatorships. The result is an expensive capital-ship race whose strategic value is inseparable from status, industrial capacity, and balanced-fleet tradeoffs.
Chapter · 21:47-39:51
Why battleships remain central without wartime carrier proof
Without the Pacific War's demonstrations, admiralties keep building fast capital ships while carrier aviation remains an expected but unproven future weapon.