Carriers and late Tiger Cubs in the 18,000- to 20,000-ton range make the historical unlimited-cruiser rule untenable. One possible settlement leaves ships up to about 10,000 tons and 6.1-inch guns unlimited, then regulates a middle category extending to roughly 20,000 tons and 10-inch guns. Britain would probably continue to build 9.2-inch weapons within that ceiling. The name remains uncertain because heavy cruiser sounds illogical beside battlecruiser and large light cruiser sounds contradictory, leaving station cruiser, first-class cruiser, or cruiser leader as possibilities. The institutional change is the explicit recognition of a ship type between ordinary cruisers and capital ships.
Chapter · 1:56:13-2:00:20
A new treaty category for station cruisers
Treaty negotiators would have to regulate ships between unlimited 6-inch light cruisers and capital ships.