Britain held 15,500 more imperial tons of combined cruiser allowance than the United States. In practical terms, the difference could cover roughly one Town-class and one Arethusa-class cruiser, or two Leander-class cruisers. The nominal Anglo-American equality of the 10:10:7 ratio therefore left the two powers with different freedom inside individual ship categories. For the Royal Navy, which wanted enough cruisers for worldwide duties, that extra allocation mattered more than the headline ratio.
Notable Point · 12:11-13:16
Britain's advantage within apparent parity
The treaty's headline Anglo-American equality concealed a combined cruiser allowance that gave Britain substantially more tonnage.