Q&A ยท 4:57:13-4:59:26

Would an early Soviet carrier force change the naval building pause?

Competence by 1941 implies a Soviet building and training programme visible well before the war.

Question

Would a competent Soviet carrier force change the carrier and capital-ship building pause?

Short answer

Its earlier construction programme could alter the treaty system and induce other navies to build more carriers.

Notes

Competent carrier operations in 1941 are taken to require commissioning before roughly 1938 and construction beginning around 1933. A visible programme on that timetable could bring Japan's departure from the treaty system forward. Soviet battleships with 16-inch guns and improved naval infrastructure are also envisaged alongside the carriers. Those accompanying ships would affect German freedom of action in the Baltic. The consequences therefore begin with the earlier building programme and extend beyond the carriers themselves.