A bigger benchmark could accelerate naval architecture

In the two-decker counterfactual, later turret ships would have to replace the combat power and visible weight of two full gun decks. The immediate political course could remain broadly familiar, with the larger divergence appearing in the next generation of warships. Possible responses include stacked turrets, retaining a gun deck beneath turrets, and developing superfiring arrangements earlier. Retaining the lower gun deck could also change low-freeboard layouts such as HMS Captain's. Much of the limiting work involved mathematics and the strength of metals and other materials. Money, time, and sustained engineering work could advance those fields, although their development could not necessarily be accelerated dramatically.