Royal Navy class size can reveal how the service handled technological risk. Two-ship classes often marked a period of development in which the service was pushing a new combination of weapons, protection, or machinery. Orders for eight or nine ships indicated confidence that the design was mature enough to equip a full squadron. This procurement rhythm let Britain experiment without making every innovation the immediate basis of a mass fleet programme.
Notable Point · 58:21-59:14
Small classes for innovation, large classes for confidence
Royal Navy order size becomes a clue to whether the service was testing technology or committing to a design it trusted for squadron service.