A German surface fleet redirects the Battle of the Atlantic

How would the war change if Germany built surface warships instead of U-boats?

British shipping faces less sustained submarine pressure, while the Royal Navy shifts resources from mass escort construction toward fast battleship and carrier groups that can hunt the new surface threat.

A German commitment to surface warships would change British construction priorities toward fast capital ships and carriers, with less demand for corvettes, frigates, and sloops. The proposed hunting group has at least one, preferably two, fast capital ships and the same preferred number of carriers, supported by cruisers and destroyers. Carrier reconnaissance finds the enemy, while air strikes slow it enough for the British ships to choose an engagement. Fighters also provide the outer layer of air defence if Germany builds carriers. German H-class and British Lion-class battleships are suggested as possible products of the rival building programmes. German shipyard capacity, completion times, and bombing of exposed building slips constrain the alternative fleet. One panellist argues that a useful change must begin by 1937 or 1938; another points out that Germany was still pursuing a balanced fleet until 1940. British supply could become more efficient, depending on when the change occurs and which German ships can actually be completed.