Churchill first proposed using a ten-year no-major-war assumption in 1919 and, as chancellor in 1928, helped make it self-perpetuating. Its formal cancellation in 1932 did not, in this interpretation, end its practical effects until 1937. The assumption resembled a later 'end of history' idea: states accepted greater fragility while treating major war as perpetually distant. Landing craft, troop-carrying auxiliaries, and fleet tankers were outside the treaty restrictions imposed on warships, leaving room for investment if funding was available. A further possibility was rapid wartime conversion of fleet tankers into escort carriers.
Chapter · 10:41-13:12
The Ten Year Rule restricted amphibious investment
Britain could have built landing craft and amphibious auxiliaries outside naval-treaty limits, but the Ten Year Rule and tight budgets kept construction experimental and sparse.