Ernest King was a demanding professional who learned to fly after receiving a carrier command and pressed hard for the US Navy's interests. That outlook helps explain his reaction when Nelson and Rodney entered American yards and revealed the scale of their water-based protection. Feedwater and floodable spaces were excluded from standard displacement, so the ships gained more defensive effect than their declared treaty tonnage suggested. American designs used related ideas on a smaller scale. King's irritation arose from discovering how far Britain had pushed a shared accounting definition.
Notable Point · 48:26-50:52
Why Nelson's treaty engineering irritated Admiral King
American examination revealed how Britain used uncounted feedwater and floodable spaces to make Nelson's protection unusually efficient under treaty accounting.