The opening sets out a multi-cause explanation for why navies stopped building battleships after 1945. The argument broadly accepts Chris Baker's thesis in What Happened to the Battleship, 1945 to Present, while differing over emphasis and nuance. Five potential culprits take the place of a single weapon or political decision. Some are decisive causes, while others act more like accessories that helped deliver the final blow. The counterfactual test asks whether a different choice by one culprit might have preserved new battleship construction.
Chapter · 1:23-3:03
Five culprits behind the battleship's disappearance
Five culprits share responsibility for the battleship's disappearance rather than one decisive invention.