British trials and German tempo create different design cycles

Britain laid down Bellerophon immediately after Dreadnought commissioned, then began Superb and Temeraire in January and February 1907. The calendar gap was small, but Dreadnought had already undergone pre-commission trials, and slight modifications carried into the Bellerophon class. Germany ordered the Nassau class in 1907, then placed Helgoland-class orders in 1908 before the first Nassau commissioned in 1909. The Germans therefore committed to a second iteration without operating experience from the first. The tempo appears driven by status competition with Britain instead of a deliberate search for an asymmetric design answer. The Kaiser-class changes that followed after a German dreadnought had entered the water suggest that meaningful adaptation depended on actual testing.