Article 8 allowed the Royal Navy to acquire small vessels of this type in effectively unlimited numbers during peacetime. The exemption did not create a large standing trawler force because the navy chose not to order them on that scale before the emergency. Orders did begin before war formally started, using designs prepared in advance. The treaty provision mattered only when designs, shipyards, and procurement decisions were ready to turn legal permission into ships.
Notable Point · 13:41-14:09
Article 8 left room for unlimited small escorts
Treaty rules allowed the Royal Navy to procure small trawler-type vessels without a numerical ceiling, though large orders came only as war approached.