A tonnage-limited treaty fleet

Would a treaty total-tonnage limit favour fewer large capital ships or more smaller ones?

Britain might favour a mixed fleet that retains powerful battleships but uses smaller battlecruisers to preserve global numbers and flexibility.

American preference for fewer full-size ships contrasts with Britain's need to divide forces across global commitments. Under a hypothetical 700,000-ton allowance, the United States would probably choose twenty 35,000-ton ships because Congress was unlikely to fund a larger run. A British alternative combines ten 35,000-ton battleships with fourteen 25,000-ton battlecruisers, all carrying 16-inch guns in different battery arrangements. The faster ships would threaten scattered American interests and force the US Navy to divide between oceans, while Britain could concentrate them alongside the battle line when needed. Japan, constrained by the smaller ratio yet inclined to seek parity, would probably understate ship displacement and build fewer vessels heavier than their declared tonnage.