A Royal Navy return to 9.2-inch cruisers

Would an early collapse of naval treaties have brought back Royal Navy 9.2-inch cruisers?

Probably. They offered a powerful cruiser that medium yards could build without displacing urgent carrier and capital-ship work.

The Royal Navy would probably consider 9.2-inch guns a natural heavy-cruiser weapon if treaty restrictions disappeared early. A jump to 12-inch cruisers of around 20,000 tons was less likely because carrier construction and capital-ship replacement already competed for the largest yards. Britain still possessed medium facilities able to build cruisers of roughly 15,000 tons. A 9.2-inch cruiser programme could use those yards while scarce heavy infrastructure concentrated on battleships and carriers.