Deterrence and peace can be cheaper than war, yet arms-control limits also changed the industrial rhythm of naval construction. The northeast's early-twentieth-century output shows the extraordinary scale and continuity that British yards once maintained. Without treaty restrictions, older C-class and Hawkins-class cruisers would likely have been replaced sooner, giving the yards a steadier flow of work. Royal Navy demand had supported the yards and the industries behind ship production. Fleet policy therefore affected the skills, investment, and supplier base needed to keep a major shipbuilding industry active.
Notable Point · 6:19-9:19
Treaty limits and the shipbuilding pipeline
The treaty system reduced the continuous flow of naval orders that had sustained British yards and their supplier industries.