What if the Washington treaty allowed battleship construction but required ten years of service before replacement?
Short answerBritain could resume a rolling program in the 1920s and 1930s, producing more postwar designs than Nelson and Rodney, while poorer powers would struggle with the cost.
NotesBritish ships commissioned before World War I would become eligible for replacement early enough to sustain design teams and shipyard capacity through the interwar years. That could yield successive 1920s and 1930s classes, perhaps including 18-inch-gunned designs, while states with weaker finances fall behind.