If carriers become primary, Fisher might build new ships with nine improved 15-inch guns while modernizing older 15-inch battleships and even considering a Nelson-class rearmament. If battleships dominate, the first generation may begin at 16 inches and grow as soon as treaty restraint collapses. An earlier return of Fleet Air Arm control to the Navy creates the opposite investment pattern. Fisher would pour money into aircraft engines because faster, longer-ranged torpedo bombers fit both his speed doctrine and the period's preferred anti-ship weapon. The two paths give other navies very different problems: an accelerating gun race or a British lead in carrier strike range and reaction speed.
Notable Point · 1:29:23-1:31:33
Gun upgrades or faster torpedo bombers define Fisher's fleet
The final branch contrasts 15-inch modernization and ever-larger battleship guns with an early Fleet Air Arm transfer focused on engines, speed, and long-range torpedo attack.