A treaty that assigned each navy one overall tonnage allowance could have let governments choose their own balance of battleships, carriers, cruisers, and destroyers. The early Washington framework briefly left ships below 10,000 tons largely outside its capital-ship restrictions, creating room for a very different force structure. Had that freedom survived, Britain might have accelerated cruiser and destroyer construction before the Second World War. Such orders could also have served as industrial stimulus during the Great Depression. The later London treaties instead imposed category-specific limits, making arms control more rigid and reducing the ability to adapt procurement as doctrine and technology evolved.
Notable Point · 13:01-14:29
How prescriptive naval treaties limited fleet adaptation
Category-by-category treaty limits restricted fleet adaptation more than a hypothetical total-tonnage ceiling, which would have left navies freer to respond to changes in strategy, technology, and economic policy.