The County class emerged under the Washington Treaty's limits of 10,000 tons standard displacement and 8-inch guns. Proposals for 8,250-ton Type B cruisers offered a possible six ships in place of five Counties. That alternative raises the question of why the Royal Navy retained a less efficient arrangement than it had already used in capital ships. Part of the explanation is institutional: Stanley Goodall later described the heavy-cruiser design organization as stagnant after years without enough challenging work.
Chapter · 24:44-26:30
County cruisers and conservative treaty design
The County class demonstrates how the 10,000-ton and 8-inch limits, plus institutional conservatism, narrowed British heavy-cruiser choices.