German naval design without Versailles limits

How might German naval design have evolved in the 1920s without the Treaty of Versailles restrictions?

Germany could have continued competitive technical development, but Britain would have treated unrestricted rebuilding as a renewed threat and might have rejected later arms limits itself.

British acceptance of peace is presented as dependent on limits to German naval rebuilding. Without those restrictions, Britain would expect another confrontation and, in this counterfactual, refuse Washington limits on its own construction. Germany could have maintained competitive technical development, but paying for it would remain difficult. The Queen Elizabeth class illustrates the argument: raising capital-ship costs left Germany unable to balance its navy's budget simply by sacrificing cruisers. Further expansion threatened destroyer numbers or the politically protected army budget. The discussion connects that constraint with the German navy's later budgetary position behind the army and Luftwaffe.