The bombing tests became politically disruptive just as Harding called a conference on limiting naval armaments. If battleships and carriers were already obsolete, Mitchell's argument raised the question of why governments should negotiate limits on them. Leaked reports intensified the dispute despite instructions to keep the findings internal. Cooperation did continue on further ship attacks, with the Navy warning that another breach of the rules would end it. Those experiments included tear-gas attacks, while an image of Alabama was identified as showing white phosphorus.
Notable Point · 2:10:03-2:16:58
Bombing-test publicity and Washington treaty politics
Leaked bombing reports complicated Washington naval conference diplomacy by casting doubt on the value of the ships governments intended to limit.