Who shaped the treaty-cruiser ceiling?

The familiar cruiser ceiling was not the inevitable outcome of the conference, and the precise origin of the proposal remains disputed in the account presented here. One version has American planners preparing to use the Omaha class as a baseline before Britain offered Hawkins, perhaps expecting another rejected proposal. Another interpretation is that Britain advanced the cap deliberately to prevent an unlimited cruiser race. A common 10,000-ton ceiling would not limit total numbers, but it could constrain the likely cost of each ship. Britain also expected other delegations to push its proposed tonnage ceiling somewhat higher.