Q&A · 40:25-41:12

Without war demand Britain would build smaller submarine generations

A no-war Royal Navy would not produce the huge historical totals of J, L, H, E, and other submarine classes.

Question

Would the Royal Navy build the historical mass of First World War submarine classes if the war never occurred?

Short answer

No; it would probably build much smaller batches, perhaps around six boats per evolving design.

Notes

Wartime need drove the mass builds. In peacetime the Navy would likely order roughly six boats of a design before moving to a new generation, producing a smaller and more iterative submarine force than the proposed inventory.