How one completed battleship might have changed Baltic calculations

Comparing Sovetsky Soyuz with HMS Anson frames a counterfactual rather than a claim that Soviet completion was likely. Had construction begun in earnest in 1938 and proceeded at the pace of an experienced British yard, one ship might have been available when Germany invaded. In the confined Baltic, even a small heavy force could have forced Germany to reconsider local naval requirements. Soviet air power could also fight effectively when properly supplied. The outcome would have depended on logistics and combined support as much as on the battleship.