Naval-treaty equality between Britain and the United States did not automatically produce equal fleets. Congress did not consistently fund construction up to the American treaty allowance, while Britain maintained a larger force in practice. The interpretation offered here is that British negotiators could accept paper parity because the political budget process made immediate American expansion unlikely. Treaty limits, appropriations, and actual building rates therefore describe different kinds of naval power.
Notable Point · 4:58:38-4:59:10
Treaty parity and the fleets governments actually funded
Paper parity under the naval treaties still left Britain with the larger fleet when Congress funded fewer ships than the United States was allowed to build.