Selling HMS Eagle could free treaty tonnage for a replacement

Was offering HMS Eagle to Chile mainly disposal, or part of a wider naval-sales strategy?

Both motives mattered, but removing Eagle from British totals would also permit a replacement under the treaty system.

The proposed sale served more than one purpose. Disposing of Eagle would remove an older hull from the British account and create treaty space for a replacement. Wider South American naval sales competition also formed part of the motive. Treaty tonnage therefore made transferring an old carrier a possible route to new construction rather than simple disposal.