Britain and America could build pairs on a limited drumbeat, preserving yards without launching an unrestricted race. Japan could be allowed five new capital ships over the same period but only one under construction at a time, an offer that would look generous in raw numbers. Serial construction would encourage designers to alter each successor rather than repeat a stable class. Five ships with different handling and tactical characteristics would complicate training and prevent them from forming a homogeneous battle line. Even British and American pairs would create some task-group friction, showing how construction pacing can constrain fleet cohesion without simply prohibiting ships.
Notable Point · 55:50-58:43
A controlled shipbuilding drumbeat could constrain fleets indirectly
Allowing slow replacement construction could sustain industry while forcing Japan toward a sequence of individually altered ships rather than a coherent class.