More surviving Spanish battleships would give both Nationalist and Republican forces valuable fleet-in-being centers around which to organize cruisers, auxiliaries, and converted merchant ships. Neither side would risk those capital ships casually, so most activity would still be conducted by cheaper vessels. A decisive moment could come while the Nationalists moved the Army of Africa's heavy equipment by sea and Republican ships tried to stop the crossing. With multiple battleships available, that contest could produce a pitched action near the Strait of Gibraltar while British non-intervention forces watched. The exchange closes by treating the ships as deterrents that force an opponent to commit its own capital ships before it can dominate a coastal theater.
Notable Point · 1:45:58-1:50:34
Extra Spanish battleships and a naval civil war
Completed Reina Victoria Eugenia-class ships could turn the Spanish Civil War into a contest between capital-ship-centered fleets near Gibraltar.