The deterrent argument for HMS Warrior rested on technological superiority, even without using the later terminology of conventional deterrence. Fisher expected an exceptionally powerful warship such as HMS Dreadnought to make naval war too dangerous to contemplate. Some of Tillman's arguments for enormous battleships can be read in the same way, without endorsing his wider politics. The intended effect was that an opponent would see a contest it could not win and decline to fight.
Notable Point · 27:48-29:07
Technological superiority as a conventional deterrent
Warrior, Fisher's Dreadnought argument, and a qualified Tillman comparison illustrate the hope that overwhelming naval strength could discourage war.