Q&A ยท 14:30-15:52

Why a much larger British fleet changes the Washington premise

A proposed fleet of huge British capital ships cannot retain the historical Washington limits, while the O3 design itself depends on treaty restrictions.

Question

How would completing a much larger British capital-ship programme affect the Washington treaty?

Short answer

The proposed ships require abandoning the historical settlement, and including treaty-driven O3 battleships in that unrestricted programme creates another inconsistency.

Notes

Completing the proposed mix of very large battleships and battlecruisers would require abandoning the historical Washington settlement. The O3 design was itself a response to treaty constraints, so including it in an unrestricted programme creates another inconsistency. An agreement that permitted all those ships would regulate construction on different terms and could not be treated as the historical treaty.