If war were delayed, could Chile buy one or two newly built Vanguard-type battleships?
Short answerAlex doubts that the budget would support new construction and distinguishes it from buying an older second-line ship decades later.
NotesThe scenario delays war long enough for Chile to consider new Vanguard-type battleships. Alex doubts that Chile could afford them in the 1930s or 1940s. Another participant relays a competing view that leading South American countries had more money than the question assumes. The reply asks where the funding would come from and distinguishes buying new ships at the height of their capability from obtaining an older ship second-hand near 1960. The disagreement is about acquisition cost and available money; the passage supplies no detailed calculation of crews, dockyards, or lifetime support.