Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:06:36-1:08:38

Mass-producing County-class cruisers

Britain had the yard capacity to build County-class cruisers far faster before the London Naval Treaty, creating a much larger cruiser force by 1939 at significant cost to its rivals.

County Class CruisersHeavy CruisersNaval Industrial BaseNaval TreatiesRoyal NavyWorld War II
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Question

How many County-class cruisers could Britain have built before the London Naval Treaty, and what would the effect be?

Short answer

British industry could plausibly produce about four per year and potentially more, yielding dozens of additional cruisers and a much stronger wartime trade-protection force.

Notes

A sustained four-per-year County-class programme could place roughly two dozen ships in service by 1930. An extreme eight-per-year effort could approach twice that number. British yards had the capacity, so government funding would be the main constraint. The construction would support industry during the interwar period and greatly expand trade protection. Germany would face many more cruisers at the outbreak of the Second World War.