Chatham's one dock large enough for a Lord Nelson-class battleship sat behind awkward locks and basin passages. Its declining priority reflected the cost of rebuilding inherited infrastructure, with no criticism of the workforce's skill. A counterfactual large dock could have drawn on London labour for later carrier construction. Workers close to Parliament would also have made cancellation politically harder, showing how the location of naval industry can influence procurement as well as engineering.
Chapter · 32:35-35:23
Chatham's inherited layout made expansion a political choice
Chatham's awkward basin access reduced its priority, while a major new dock near London could have reshaped both naval industry and the politics of carrier construction.