Britain's combined cruiser allowance was about 339,000 imperial tons. Spread across seventy hulls, that would leave each ship under 5,000 tons, too small for an effective modern cruiser. Aircraft carriers, Tribal-class destroyers, escort carriers, and wartime-built sloops could perform some cruiser duties, but the cruiser force itself needed substantial prewar construction. The seventy-cruiser target described the fleet Britain hoped its industry could assemble as treaty limits failed and war approached. It included the margin needed for maintenance, old ships, battle damage, and losses.
Chapter · 1:34-5:56
Why Britain wanted seventy cruisers
Britain's seventy-cruiser target accounted for worldwide presence, maintenance, damage, obsolescence, and wartime losses beyond the peacetime hull count.