How would this war change the future balance between aircraft carriers and battleships?
Short answerCarriers would move to the forefront, but the mixed night, surface, bombardment, and escort missions in this war would not produce an immediate, clear-cut end to battleship construction.
NotesCarriers would gain prominence without fully displacing capital ships. Battleships still finish damaged fleets, cover amphibious forces, and bombard defended coasts, so the likely result is a new generation of both carrier aviation and surface combatants rather than an instant all-carrier navy. Operational pressure could also accelerate jet-aircraft development. As carriers absorb more traditional battle-fleet functions, a battlecruiser or large heavy cruiser could emerge as their fast, heavily armed escort. The war would sweep away the existing naval-treaty limits, although the victors might try to negotiate a new system afterward.