Interwar timing explains why later entrants can receive markedly better equipment than early buyers. A design that looks advanced when ordered can be overtaken while a large fleet is still being built around it. Germany committed earlier on the development curve, Britain bought from about 1936, and American orders around 1940 benefited from further advances. Procurement requires identifying promising technology and judging when it is mature enough to justify a long-lived fleet investment.
Notable Point · 1:03:05-1:04:10
The danger of buying naval technology at the wrong moment
A major navy can damage itself by buying during the wrong part of a technology curve, even when the equipment looks advanced at the time.