The navy got the conscripts the army didn’t want, besides, the army was regional, the navy was federal. The Germans spent less on their navy than the French and yet managed to overtake the French.I believe the Navy got too much priority in our time especially leading up to World War 1
Army vs Navy industrial benefits
Artillery manufacturing: pipe making and some peasants learn maths.
Naval ship building: bigger pipe making and a business case for computers.
Also: extensive electrical systems, motors, hydraulics, engineering pressure vessels, boiler making, fuel systems, pumps, turbines, internal combustion engines, batteries, electric motors, riveting, welding, forgings, castings, advanced metallurgy, high tensile steel, plate bending, precision optics, mechanical analogue computers, communication systems, wireless, furniture making, refrigeration, woodwork and decking, galvanised fittings, painting, cutting edge engineering, drafting, project management, industrial scale organisation etc. All usable in the wider marine and broader economy. 40% of warship costs go into the pockets of yard workers who pay taxes and so the whole thing goes around again.