Why 1920s modernization could not substitute for 1930s refits

Could stronger Royal Navy modernization in the 1920s have prepared the fleet for a foreseeable global war?

The Navy already modernized, but the pace of development meant 1920s work could not remove the need for another major 1930s refit cycle.

The Royal Navy did modernize after the First World War. Older capital ships received major work in the 1920s and again in the 1930s because each decade offered different technology. Giving the Navy later equipment early would only cause that equipment to appear dated by the next cycle. Permanent development teams also continued improving systems instead of assembling briefly around one inventor or project. Interwar readiness depended on repeated modernization rather than a single farsighted reconstruction.