How larger Hawkins cruisers would shift treaty limits

If the pre-Washington Hawkins-class cruiser displaced 12,000 to 13,000 tons, how would that affect treaty limits and Royal Navy heavy-cruiser construction?

The Washington cruiser definition would likely rise toward 13,000 to 15,000 tons, while the meaningful cumulative quota would still arrive later with the London treaties.

The panel argues that negotiators would not preserve a 10,000-ton cruiser cap while Britain was already building a prominent 13,000-ton class. The individual-ship limit would instead be adjusted upward, perhaps into the 13,000- to 15,000-ton range. Washington did not impose a cumulative cruiser tonnage in the same way as its capital-ship rules, so navies could initially build multiple ships under the new maximum. Fleet-wide cruiser quotas would become the important constraint with the London treaties. The exchange separates the origin of the heavy-cruiser definition from later limits on total numbers and tonnage.