If money were no object when the treaty system ended in 1936, how many capital ships could each major power lay down?
Short answerBritain and the United States could each sustain about four annual starts, while Germany, France, Italy, and Japan remained constrained by yards, resources, or programs already at capacity.
NotesThe Royal Navy and US Navy could turn a four-ship annual rhythm into roughly twelve new ships entering service over a few years. Germany and France first need to expand or reactivate yards, Italy grows more slowly, and Japan's Yamato program already consumes extraordinary resources. Removing treaty limits also pushes the leading navies directly toward 16-inch weapons, widening rather than closing the Axis infrastructure gap.