A British fleet of Agincourt plus four 18-inch-gunned Admiral-class fast battleships would give treaty negotiators a different baseline. A Washington agreement might therefore accept 18-inch guns and a limit around 45,000 or even 50,000 tons instead of the historical ceiling. American South Dakota and Lexington projects would face redesign, cancellation, or a delayed effort to develop an 18-inch weapon. Britain would also have to enlarge dockyards before moving beyond the Admirals, making infrastructure part of the next N3 and G3 design problem. Wartime construction choices would constrain later arms-control bargains as well as battlefield performance.
Notable Point · 2:50:25-2:56:57
How 18-inch fast battleships would reshape naval treaties
A postwar treaty cannot simply preserve historical limits if Britain already fields several large, 18-inch-gunned fast battleships.