G3 and N3 as the next step in a qualitative arms race

American 16-inch gunships are treated as an evolutionary step that Britain could answer with a new generation of capital ships. An 18-inch standard was preferred as a way to settle the qualitative race, although the desired speed and infrastructure limits complicated the fast ship. British capacity to build large capital ships is contrasted with the smaller number of suitable Japanese yards. Four G3s and four N3s fit the customary pattern of ordering ships in batches of four or five. A proposal for eight of each would have been a much larger and less credible commitment. Britain's position after the First World War must also be distinguished from the later economic consequences of the Depression and the Second World War.