The closing counterfactual asks what would happen if Britain and the United States used their unmatched infrastructure to force the qualitative race forward, beginning with Dreadnought or the Queen Elizabeth class. Earlier American jumps from 12-inch to 14-inch and 16-inch guns would require Britain to answer those advances while still outbuilding Germany in the quantitative race. Neither navy would escape politics: the United States Senate and British Treasury would still limit how much capability could be bought. Industrial capacity, legislative budgets, and strategic signalling would continue to shape the arms race even when engineers could design more powerful ships.
Notable Point · 1:04:15-1:06:50
Britain, America, and an unrestrained naval technology race
The closing counterfactual asks how the global arms race would change if Britain and the United States used their industrial lead to field each generation's best possible battleship despite political limits.