Wartime shipbuilding would not continue at the same rate for every ship type after 1918. Destroyer production would slow after its enormous wartime surge, leaving governments to find other useful work for yards and smaller-warship supply chains. British sloops and United States Coast Guard cutters are plausible alternatives. Construction priorities would still differ by ship type in a world without naval treaties.
Notable Point · 44:49-45:40
Sloops and cutters after the destroyer-building surge
A postwar pause in destroyer orders could redirect British and American construction toward sloops and Coast Guard cutters.