Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 50:05-51:52

How a larger French fleet rewrites treaty arithmetic

Keeping fifteen French dreadnoughts would force implausibly large British, American, and Japanese capital-ship allowances under Washington-style ratios.

Capital ShipsFrench NavyImperial Japanese NavyRoyal NavyUS NavyWashington Naval Treaty
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Question

Would France be allowed to retain fifteen capital ships under an interwar naval treaty?

Short answer

Probably not. Applying the treaty ratios to fifteen French ships would inflate the Japanese, British, and American allowances to politically unacceptable levels.

Notes

The scenario gives France fifteen dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts after the First World War. An approximate 5:5:3:2:2 ratio produces twenty-two and a half Japanese capital ships and thirty-seven and a half each for Britain and the United States. Those awkward totals make fifteen French ships an implausible treaty settlement. An alternative allocation of eight ships each for France and Italy produces twelve for Japan and twenty each for Britain and the United States. Increasing one navy's allowance therefore changes the scale of the whole agreement.