The treaty defined standard displacement, divided cruisers by gun caliber and size, and barred new heavy cruisers before 1943. It also limited new light cruisers with guns up to 6.1 inches to 8,000 tons unless a signatory invoked the escalator mechanism. That rule cut directly across the Royal Navy's desire for many more large Town-class cruisers. Parliamentary exchanges show ministers wrestling with replacement numbers, legal interpretation, and the gap between worsening security needs and formal arms-control promises.
Chapter · 27:53-41:20
How the 1936 London Naval Treaty constrained cruiser design
Treaty definitions, the 8,000-ton limit, and the escalator clause explain why Britain pursued a smaller successor to the Town class.