What different small ships should the Royal Navy have built in the 1930s?
Short answerMore trawlers and more treaty-compliant ocean-going sloops armed with four-inch guns and depth charges, accepting speeds no greater than 20 knots.
NotesA stronger 1930s small-ship program would have built more trawlers and especially more ocean-going sloops. Article 8 permitted a vessel up to 2,000 tons if it stayed at or below 20 knots, avoided torpedoes, and respected the gun limits. That left room for an escort with several four-inch guns and a large depth-charge outfit. The Royal Navy already built ships to this logic, so the missing choice was quantity rather than invention of a new type. More sloops would have expanded long-range convoy protection without consuming the destroyer program.