V and W construction can be understood as preparation for the budget contraction expected after the war. Ships were laid down in 1916, 1917 and 1918 while wartime resources remained available. A construction time of about two years meant wartime orders would shape the fleet well into peace. Earlier wars had left an institutional memory of immediate cuts and demands to rely on ships already built. In this interpretation, strong destroyers ordered during the war prepared the Royal Navy for the following five to ten years. Anticipating restricted peacetime construction helps explain the programme's emphasis on ships with lasting usefulness.
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Building destroyers before the postwar budget contraction
Anticipated peacetime cuts offer an explanation for building strong V and W destroyers while wartime funding remained available.