Dreadnought illustrates the Royal Navy's discomfort with very large technological jumps. The ship retained 12-inch guns and twin mountings even though 14-inch weapons, triple turrets, superfiring arrangements, and greater speed were at least conceivable. A more radical package might have delayed foreign competitors by forcing them to develop new guns and fire-control systems rather than merely copy the general type. This counterfactual supports the argument that institutions accustomed to incremental evolution can stop a revolution halfway even when they initiate it.
Notable Point · 40:25-42:28
Why Dreadnought's revolution stopped short
Dreadnought transformed battleship design, yet Britain declined several available advances that could have made the leap harder to match.