Washington imposed no submarine tonnage or armament ceiling, so an eight-inch-gun boat could grow while opposing cruisers remained limited to 10,000 tons and similar weapons. On paper the cruiser submarine could surface unexpectedly and meet a treaty cruiser with nominal gunnery parity. In practice its low freeboard, exposed superstructure, and slow transition from submerged approach to organized gunfire gave the surface ship time to detect and engage it. The loophole made the concept strategically legible without solving the physical disadvantages of fighting a submarine on the surface.
Chapter · 2:35:57-2:38:53
Cruiser submarines exploited an unlimited treaty category
With no Washington limit on submarines, navies could imagine large boats carrying cruiser-scale guns against treaty-limited surface warships.