Wartime Atlantic responsibilities warn against equating national power with unlimited naval availability. The U.S. Navy concentrated much of its strength in the Pacific, allowing the Royal Canadian Navy and at times the U.S. Coast Guard to assume disproportionate Atlantic roles. Britain and the United States remained the world's two largest navies yet were continuously short of ships for all desired missions. Coalition warfare can therefore require one ally to run a theater while the others study and adapt from the shared campaign.
Notable Point · 17:11-19:15
Even the largest navies depend on allied burden sharing
The Atlantic example shows why fleet comparisons must account for theater priorities, finite resources, and allies that carry missions a larger navy cannot cover everywhere.