What if Germany built twice as many good dreadnoughts year after year?
Short answerBritain would expand in response, producing a ruinously expensive race that Germany is poorly placed to sustain.
NotesBuilding eight German dreadnoughts a year would require a major expansion of yards, workers, rail connections, and supporting industry. Britain would see that expansion before the ships appeared and could fund Cammell Laird, Harland and Wolff, and other builders to respond. The result is not a one-sided German advantage but a far more expensive arms race in which Britain retains the deeper maritime base. Germany would have to risk bankruptcy or divert money from the army, creating new continental vulnerabilities. A Second World War version with more Scharnhorst-like ships likewise accelerates British battleships and armored carriers rather than leaving the Royal Navy static.