Placing the game design in 1938 gives each navy a different conversion path based on its infrastructure and institutional priorities. France lacks an easy dockyard route to a complete rebuild and still gains a carrier better than Bearn, while the Soviet Union receives a large fast capital ship close to the design's imagined origin. In Germany, ownership of the aviation component intensifies rivalry between the navy and Luftwaffe. Italy has the strongest incentive to remove turrets, enlarge the flight deck, and reuse the 16-inch guns for coastal defense. Japan can retain the 30-knot hybrid as a flagship able to keep pace with the carrier striking force.
Notable Point · 2:09:17-2:14:06
Continental navies adapt Kearsarge differently
France and Russia may accept the ship largely intact, Germany turns it into an interservice contest, Italy may enlarge the flight deck, and Japan gains a natural fast fleet flagship.