Later security restrictions should not be projected backward onto the naval market of 1905. Naval technology was changing rapidly, status mattered intensely, and commercial yards remained willing to serve foreign customers. British industrial leadership could therefore reinforce national prestige even while putting advanced machinery or complete warships into other fleets. German or American battleship orders could in principle have been accepted by British builders, despite the strategic tension that those ships might later embody.
Notable Point · 1:53:58-1:55:04
Status and exports in the 1905 naval market
The counterfactual depends on a prewar market where strategic rivals could still purchase warships and machinery from British firms.