How would a rule requiring all heavily armed capital ships to exceed 100,000 tons affect design?
Short answerIt would make infrastructure the first constraint and would probably hold most designs close to the 100,000-ton threshold.
NotesA rule forcing every capital ship above eight-inch armament to exceed 100,000 tons would first require enormous investment in yards, docks, and support systems. It would also force planners to reconsider total fleet tonnage, because each hull would consume resources on an exceptional scale. The ships would cluster near the imposed threshold because greater size compounds those costs. The counterfactual makes shore infrastructure part of capital-ship design.