Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:28:30-1:29:45

Seven Bayerns would provoke a larger British reply

A High Seas Fleet with seven Bayern-class battleships would likely trigger more British construction and accelerate the move toward 18-inch-gun ships.

18-inch GunsBayern Class BattleshipsCapital Ship RaceImperial German NavyRoyal Navy
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Question

What if the High Seas Fleet had seven Bayern-class battleships?

Short answer

Britain would probably order many more capital ships and might accelerate 18-inch-gun construction, while German infrastructure remained the limiting factor.

Notes

Producing seven completed Bayerns would require Germany to begin with a much larger order than the four historical hulls. Britain would answer the resulting concentration of 15-inch-gun battleships with another round of numerical and technical escalation. Faster R-class successors with 18-inch guns become more plausible in that race. German yards and supporting infrastructure might still be unable to complete such an enlarged programme before the war's outcome changed.