British capital-ship growth pressured US Panama Canal limits

Could Britain have built a capital ship that forced the US Navy to choose between matching it and fitting through the Panama Canal?

That pressure already existed: slower American battle-fleet doctrine demanded more firepower, while British designs helped drive US ships toward the canal's dimensional limits.

The US Navy wanted slower, defensively oriented battleships to carry enough firepower to answer faster British ships. That requirement pushed hull dimensions upward until canal transit became a serious constraint, illustrating how a rival navy's design choices can shape infrastructure-sensitive procurement.