Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:35:33-1:35:59

A 100,000-ton British battleship shocks 1920 but answers Yamato in wartime

The international reaction depends almost entirely on whether Britain announces the giant ship during the postwar arms race or as a wartime response to Yamato.

BattleshipsNaval Arms RaceRoyal NavyWarship DesignYamato Class Battleships
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Question

How would other powers react if Britain announced an 85,000- to 97,000-ton battleship?

Short answer

They would be alarmed in 1920, but during the Second World War they would recognize it as Britain's answer to Yamato.

Notes

Timing is the decisive variable. An announcement in 1920 would provoke alarm because the ship would escalate an already tense capital-ship competition. A mid-Second World War design intended to answer Yamato would be understood as a British wartime response. The same displacement can therefore look destabilizing in peacetime and strategically legible in an active war.