Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:29:31-1:30:06

How large might 1920s battleships have grown without treaties?

Democratic budgets might have stabilized battleship growth near 45,000 tons, while authoritarian competition could have pushed designs higher.

BattleshipsDefence SpendingNaval Arms ControlNaval Arms Race
Watch at this timeFull video guide
Question

Without the naval treaties, how large would battleships probably have become during the 1920s?

Short answer

Roughly 45,000 tons under democratic budget pressure, with larger designs possible if authoritarian competition drove the race upward.

Notes

Without treaty limits, battleship proposals in the 1920s could reach the 50,000- to 60,000-ton range, but governments may not have paid for them. Construction would probably have stabilized around 45,000 tons while democratic states remained the leading naval powers. A later rise of dictatorships could still have pushed the competitive ceiling upward. The answer treats political economy, rather than engineering alone, as the effective limit on an unconstrained arms race.