How would logistics and ship design change from the Second World War onward if nuclear weapons were never developed?
Short answerThe war lasts longer and the Cold War relies on much larger conventional fleets, air forces, artillery, and logistics, keeping major capital-ship programs relevant.
NotesWithout nuclear weapons, defeating Japan would probably require a longer and more destructive conventional campaign. That extension could bring the Montana, Lion, or related battleship designs into service and encourage Soviet capital-ship construction. In the Cold War, states would need far more conventional artillery, air power, shipping, and sustainment because nuclear weapons no longer substitute for mass. Cruise-missile submarines might still emerge, but they would carry conventional weapons inside a force structured for large industrial wars. The postwar fleet would grow out of a different end to the Second World War rather than simply removing nuclear warheads from the historical order of battle.