The Washington Treaty arrived amid an expected postwar contraction, whereas the First London Treaty imposed further limits on cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. The argument is that suppressing these numerous working vessels weakened navies' practical wartime capacity and discouraged potentially useful designs and force levels. On this comparison, the First London settlement caused a more damaging reduction in usable capability than the earlier capital-ship limits. The submarine force provides one example of the lost numbers and design possibilities.
Notable Point · 51:14-52:41
The First London Treaty constrained useful light forces
In this critique, limits on cruisers, destroyers, and submarines removed capabilities navies needed more urgently than the capital ships constrained at Washington.