Two new battleships in exchange for four older ships

Article II identifies the capital ships each power can retain and requires Britain, the United States and Japan to dispose of other capital ships built or building. The United States can complete two West Virginia-class ships while disposing of North Dakota and Delaware. Britain can construct two new capital ships of no more than 35,000 tons standard displacement and must then dispose of four older ships. Those older vessels had been important components of the fleet at Jutland. Exchanging four of them for two postwar designs reflects the difference in capability between generations, which a simple hull count would conceal.