An all-in Dreadnought would begin the naval race at a much higher level

What would you tell Admiral Fisher if you could advise him before Dreadnought?

Build a much faster ship with five triple 14-inch turrets and order enough hulls to establish overwhelming superiority immediately.

The counterfactual deliberately rejects an incremental Dreadnought. The proposal calls for a 24-knot ship with five triple 14-inch turrets, giving the design fifteen heavy guns. Eight hulls would follow rather than a single technological demonstrator. That opening class would confront every rival with an industrial and technical standard far beyond the historical starting point. Changing the scale of the first order could alter the arms race as much as changing the specifications of the individual ship.