The proposed study follows capital-ship development from about 1905 to 1955. Its definition includes aircraft carriers alongside battleships and battlecruisers because each can become a fleet's principal status ship. The finished hulls record the theories, design ideas, development paths, and institutional decisions behind them. Warship design can therefore serve as evidence for how navies understood power and future warfare.
Notable Point · 26:43-27:17
Capital-ship design records a navy's theories and decisions
A proposed study of capital ships broadens the category beyond battleships to the status vessels through which fleets express design ideas and institutional choices.