Capital-ship choices were shaped by what yards and suppliers already knew how to build. Reusing designs, weapons, or components could avoid fresh development costs, but treaty tonnage and changing missions still forced redesign. Established gun, armor, and machinery lines preserved skilled labor and institutional knowledge that could not be recreated instantly. Capital-ship costs also paid for the judgment of highly experienced specialists, whose value could not be measured by hours or headcount alone. Legal limits, strategic value, and industrial efficiency all entered the final design.
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Treaty tonnage met production economics
Treaty limits did not remove the economic advantages of established gun, armor, machinery, and supplier production lines.