Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 35:59-36:13

Did Queen Elizabeth set the Washington treaty standard?

Not by itself. The class began a design progression whose later ships helped define the treaty-era benchmark.

BattleshipsNaval TreatiesQueen Elizabeth Class BattleshipsWashington Naval Treaty
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Question

Did the Queen Elizabeth class itself establish the capital-ship standard used by the Washington Naval Treaty?

Short answer

Not by itself. The class began a design progression whose later ships helped define the treaty-era benchmark.

Notes

Queen Elizabeth began a design process without directly setting a treaty limit. The class demonstrated a combination of heavy guns, protection, and greater speed that later capital ships developed further. Those successors formed the immediate comparison set when treaty standards emerged. This distinction preserves the technological lineage without turning the Washington settlement into a one-ship story.