If 1980s Iowa-class battleships appeared in 1908

What if the South Carolina class became 1980s Iowa-class battleships instead of New York-class ships?

Britain would race toward 18-inch battleships, while the United States would possess ships whose advanced systems its 1908 institutions could only partly use.

Replacing the South Carolina class with 1980s Iowa-class battleships would place the United States far beyond every contemporary battle fleet. Britain would respond by pursuing 18-inch-gunned ships as quickly as its industry allowed, accelerating the qualitative arms race far more sharply than an early New York class would. Other powers would treat the American advantage as both a technical shock and a political threat. Congress might nevertheless conclude that the United States had already achieved supremacy and deny funding for additional battleships. A 1908 navy would also struggle to operate many late-twentieth-century systems and weapons fitted to the modernized Iowas. The scenario therefore creates overwhelming hulls alongside an equally dramatic knowledge and support gap.