The proposed settlement caps capital ships near 45,000 tons with 16.5-inch guns and carriers near 33,000 tons, then lets each nation build according to its resources and strategic needs. This ends the qualitative race without resolving the politically impossible question of Russia's fleet ratio. In this formulation, the cumulative-tonnage articles disappear while maximum characteristics for each ship remain enforceable. The United States might finish the Lexingtons and South Dakotas already authorized, but congressional enthusiasm for another generation of battleships is unlikely.
Chapter · 49:57-53:22
Ship-by-ship limits replace fleet ratios
A workable treaty may regulate the maximum size and armament of individual ships while abandoning cumulative national tonnage quotas.