Q&A · 2:00:25-2:04:36

A Washington Treaty with separate battlecruiser quotas

Separate battlecruiser allowances would complicate treaty ratios, encourage new construction and strengthen the link between fast squadrons and carrier scouting.

Question

What would change if the Washington Naval Treaty allowed each power a separate battlecruiser force?

Short answer

The ratios would become harder to stabilize, new fast capital ships would likely be built, and carrier development would gain urgency as navies supported battlecruiser scouting forces.

Notes

Giving every major power additional battlecruisers risks breaking the treaty unless the ships receive their own carefully proportioned category. Britain and the United States would then organize fast squadrons around them, while Japan would fight over whether its ratio applied to battleships or battlecruisers. The need to scout for these formations could accelerate carrier development and long-range, multi-crew naval aviation.