Q&A · 2:42:43-2:43:57

The wartime value of an additional major shipyard

An industrial counterfactual follows two capital-ship orders into a durable expansion of wartime shipbuilding capacity.

Question

How would a yard used to build a Tiger sister and a seventh Queen Elizabeth affect the First World War?

Short answer

Keeping the large yard active would add cruiser and destroyer output as well as engine and boiler capacity throughout the war.

Notes

The value of the yard extends well beyond the two headline capital ships. Once active, its slips, workers, engine shops, and boiler production remain available for the wartime program. Britain gains more options for building cruisers and destroyers and for relieving pressure elsewhere in the industrial base.