The counterfactual changes more than the battleship fleet because a war ending in 1914 provides little time for aviation and submarine operations to mature under combat pressure. Aircraft carriers would probably still appear, but their development and operating methods would advance more slowly. Submarines likewise remain an improving technology without the same celebrated or feared wartime campaign. An independent Royal Air Force would also be unlikely to appear on the familiar timetable, leaving naval aviation in a different institutional setting.
Notable Point · 1:00:09-1:00:45
A short war slows carriers, submarines, and an independent RAF
Ending the war in 1914 removes the sustained operational pressure that accelerated naval aviation, submarine warfare, and the creation of the RAF.