The growing British advantage is compared with the pre-1914 Anglo-German naval arms race. Ordering fewer dreadnoughts in some years created the appearance that Germany was closing the gap and helped produce political panic. A continuous British program would have kept the industrial and numerical lead much clearer. The same logic applies here: every month Germany waits for a viable surface group gives Britain more KGVs, carriers, and later Lion-class ships.
Notable Point · 1:20:50-1:21:36
Continuous British building keeps Germany from closing the gap
The Anglo-German naval arms race supplies the historical analogy: steady British orders would make German catch-up much less plausible.