How would navies have developed if World War II had not happened?
Short answerBattleships would likely last longer, while carriers still improve and the fleet shifts toward larger destroyers and cruisers through slower evolutionary change.
NotesThe battleship would persist longer if wartime experience never demonstrated the full reach of carrier aviation. Aircraft carriers would still develop, especially in Britain, where fighter direction and armoured-carrier thinking were already advancing. Later ships might combine Ark Royal-sized air groups with Illustrious-style protection. Destroyers would grow, small light cruisers might disappear, and navies could concentrate on larger cruisers instead.