Two possible treaty formulas accommodate the oversized battlecruisers, but a 660,000-ton total leaves too much room to count as meaningful arms control. The more plausible formula allows a small number of 45,000-ton trade-protection battlecruisers within a recognizable fifteen-ship framework. Britain's case for retaining Hood and Lexington's even greater displacement push the negotiators toward explicit exceptions. A 555,000-ton ceiling preserves much of the treaty's restrictive purpose while admitting the ships required by the scenario.
Notable Point · 22:40-26:53
Battlecruiser tonnage becomes trade-protection politics
A revised capital-ship settlement uses heavy battlecruisers and trade protection to keep the arms-control deal politically plausible.