Britain planned four G3s and four N3s as the visible start of a wider postwar programme calibrated to affordable government spending. American and Japanese programmes were largely based on First World War designs whose broad characteristics rivals could assess. The G3 and N3 were postwar British designs and would reveal more of their capabilities only as construction progressed. The G3s were ordered on 24 October 1921, just nineteen days before the Washington conference opened. Negotiators therefore faced an information asymmetry when comparing known American and Japanese ships with the newer British proposals.
Notable Point · 57:43-58:29
G3 orders and the information gap before Washington
G3 orders placed nineteen days before the Washington conference left negotiators comparing familiar wartime programmes with less familiar British postwar designs.