Q&A ยท 2:22:01-2:24:07

How fleets evolve if World War I is delayed

A delayed war produces larger British ships, 18-inch guns, renewed dock investment, German retrenchment, and an American response.

Question

What would major-power fleets look like by 1918 if war did not begin in 1914?

Short answer

Britain would field much larger 18-inch-gunned ships, Germany would recede, and the United States would face a new construction challenge.

Notes

Without war in 1914, Britain would retire pre-dreadnoughts, reserve some early dreadnoughts, and continue a major infrastructure cycle. British gun development would probably jump beyond 15 inches to an 18-inch weapon rather than stop at an insufficiently dramatic 16.5 inches. New docks and yards would support larger ships. Germany's fleet would fall behind as its challenge lost momentum. The United States would then have to decide how to answer a new British capital-ship standard.