What changes if Britain's major imperial dry docks are enlarged before World War I to twice the length and width needed by its largest warship?
Short answerRemoving overseas dock limits could allow earlier orders for large postwar designs such as I3. Their construction would change treaty bargaining and create options for exceptionally large carrier conversions.
NotesA worldwide network of docks roughly 1,500 feet long and 200 feet wide would remove the overseas-support constraint on large British capital-ship designs. One suggestion is that even the Admiral class would gain 18-inch guns, but the opposing view keeps it tied to the German ships it was designed to counter. The larger change comes with the postwar designs: L3, K3, M2, or I3 no longer need to be reduced to fit existing docks. The I3 example is about 925 feet overall, roughly 52,000 tons, and armed with nine 18-inch guns behind an all-or-nothing protection scheme. Earlier orders could leave substantial construction underway when Washington negotiations begin. Completing those ships or converting them into enormous carriers would create different bargaining problems over numbers, displacement, and the infrastructure other navies would need to compete.