The government reduced the 1906-07 program before the ships were ordered, making Bellerophon an economy measure rather than a reaction to sudden German construction. Similar reductions in later classes narrowed Britain's apparent lead and helped produce the political crisis culminating in the 'We want eight' campaign. The Anglo-German quantitative competition was real, but Britain's own cuts created avoidable urgency. Three omitted early ships helped produce pressure for a later, faster, and more expensive response.
Chapter · 28:10-32:44
Bellerophon was planned before the dreadnought panic
The class belonged to a planned annual program; repeated three-ship economies helped create the later urgency often projected backward onto it.