Small sloops could fall outside restrictions aimed at larger combatants, yet obtaining money for them remained difficult. Formal treaty provisions left more room to build than the broader political preference for minimizing naval construction. The Ten Year Rule and concern about alarming other countries supported arguments against new orders. Bridgewater and Sandwich were followed by the Hastings class as construction resumed in limited steps. Sustaining those orders was part of the practical problem of improving anti-submarine ships during interwar restraint.
Notable Point · 8:13:37-8:15:59
Why treaty exemptions did not guarantee sloop orders
Sloop development depended on obtaining construction funds even where small-ship treaty limits left room to build.