A 25,000-ton ceiling initially looks plausible because designs such as Gangut and Iron Duke sit close to it. Within only a few years, the Queen Elizabeth class moves well beyond that envelope. Dreadnought had opened a period of rapid architectural growth rather than establishing a stable capital-ship type that diplomats could safely freeze. As smaller powers fell behind in numbers, they would have a strong incentive to seek a qualitative remedy in larger or more capable ships. Only the biggest industrial states could balance quantity and quality, so the ceiling would become politically intolerable to weaker signatories as the technology advanced.
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Dreadnought growth quickly outpaces the treaty limit
The leap from Iron Duke to Queen Elizabeth shows how quickly a plausible 1909 ceiling would obstruct a new generation of naval architecture.