The British move to a 13.5-inch gun did not demonstrate an inability to build a long 12-inch weapon comparable to Germany's. Britain could manufacture a longer, heavier gun, and calibre choices also had to address other fleets. American, French, Italian, Japanese, and Russian programmes belonged in that calculation, along with Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Australia's battlecruiser. Treating dreadnought construction as an exclusively Anglo-German contest obscures those requirements. USS Texas supplies a concrete reminder that dreadnought development extended well beyond the two European rivals.
Notable Point · 35:06-37:10
The dreadnought race was wider than Britain and Germany
British gun choices and the example of USS Texas place dreadnought development within a global shipbuilding contest.