Range explains Gato-class displacement

The boats' weights directly expressed their missions. Gato's roughly 1,526 standard tons paid for the range and internal capacity needed to cross the Pacific before reaching its patrol area. The British minelayer was meant to disappear into restricted island waters and make channels impassable to Japanese naval forces. One design carried its war across an ocean, while the other exploited geography near its planned operating area. A 545-ton boat provides another comparison: 52,700 tons could theoretically buy roughly 95 hulls at that size. The arithmetic shows how displacement, range, and mission turn the same treaty total into very different fleet structures.