Q&A ยท 3:22:48-3:23:36

How Dominion dreadnoughts could transform the arms race

A counterfactual annual programme of ten Dominion-funded dreadnoughts would magnify the Royal Navy's construction advantage beyond Germany's ability to answer.

Question

What would the dreadnought race look like if the Dominions and India built ten additional ships a year for the Royal Navy?

Short answer

It would create an overwhelming British construction advantage, especially if the additional ships advanced into the 13.5-inch-gun generation.

Notes

Proposed Canadian, Indian, South African, Australian, and New Zealand construction would amount to ten additional ships each year. Adding those hulls to the Royal Navy's own programme would produce an enormous construction advantage. Later ships would probably follow contemporary British development into 13.5-inch-gun designs. Germany, adding only two dreadnoughts a year in this scenario, could not sustain the competition.