Charleston's limits make the Omaha orders decisive

Charleston's roughly 180-meter capacity could not accept the much larger South Dakota or Lexington hulls, so expanding it for capital ships would be costly and unnecessary for Tillman's goals. Cruisers used most of the same skilled trades but passed through a yard more quickly, producing more frequent contracts and a wider distribution of employment. The Omaha class fit within the yard's physical limits. Since none of the historical Omaha orders went to Charleston after Tillman's death, redirecting several there becomes the counterfactual's first concrete procurement change.