Early North Carolina-level battleships would start a larger arms race

What if the United States built North Carolina-level ships instead of its earlier standard battleships?

Britain would attempt to match or exceed them, while Germany would struggle and other naval powers would face a renewed arms race.

The ship name is initially confused with South Carolina, then corrected to the 1930s North Carolina class. Moving a ship with nine 16-inch guns and roughly 28-knot speed into the earlier building race would force a much larger British response. Suggested British answers carry twelve 16-inch or twelve 15-inch guns. Germany is judged unable to match that scale, while Italy and Japan would still want to respond. This counterfactual changes the size and cost of the competition without ending it.