Why Germany could not quickly exploit larger treaty limits

Could Germany have built up to an expanded Washington Treaty allowance?

Not quickly enough to make the paper limits decisive; Germany would need many years to create the fleet and industrial capacity.

Germany could not rapidly reach the hypothetical battleship, carrier, and cruiser limits. A fleet buildup would take so long that the paper allowance would outrun practical construction. Pre-First World War figures Winston Churchill used when arguing for Canadian naval support did not emphasize that Germany's existing build rate would take until about 1930 to reach its planned strength. The comparison shows the gap between an authorized force, a political threat estimate, and ships actually delivered.