A two-ship order defeated the quantity argument

The strategic case for a cheaper Type B cruiser depended on buying enough hulls to cover convoy and trade-protection duties. The government ordered only York and Exeter, so the Royal Navy never received the numerical advantage that might have offset their reduced fighting power. Treaty accounting created constraints, although contemporary naval politics still left room for a larger program if ministers had funded it. A cheaper design yielded no fleet advantage because the procurement plan failed to convert its limited savings into useful numbers.