From treaty tonnage to a full-load warship

The treaty's standard-displacement ceiling differs from the heavier full-load condition used to assess the resulting ship. Depending on whether Britain aimed for sixteen capital ships, repeated Nelson's under-limit proportion, or built to the ceiling, the calculations produce cases around 38,440, 39,600, or 41,000 tons standard. Scaling a 41,000-ton Nelson-like design produces roughly 46,568 tons full load, while comparisons with Nelson and the cancelled G3 show that protection choices can change the relationship between the two measures. Roughly 40,000 tons standard and 45,000 tons full load emerge as a plausible middle case, since navies might preserve some allowance for later growth instead of building to the legal maximum. Treaty arithmetic, design growth, and an operational ship's real displacement are related but remain distinct measures.