Britain’s industrial scale made repeated steam-rate development possible

Repeated construction and conversion gave British maritime industry practical experience alongside new hulls. Royal Navy steam rates moved from converted ships, through a mixed generation, to purpose-built vessels. That capacity rested on the infrastructure of global trade, and Britain built and converted more steam rates than all the other navies combined. The accumulated experience helps explain how the navy moved so quickly from wooden steam ships into the ironclad era. Technical change depended on the industrial capacity needed to sustain it.