The Washington system limited cumulative capital-ship and carrier tonnage while also imposing unit limits on capital ships, carriers, and other vessels. In this account, it was the first serious arms-control treaty, and aircraft carriers occupied a distinct regulated category immediately behind battleships and battlecruisers. That prominence contradicts the claim that interwar leaders simply failed to recognize naval aviation's importance. It does not mean negotiators believed aircraft could already sink maneuvering warships reliably in 1922. They expected the capability to develop and treated the ships that operated those aircraft as strategically significant. The distinction separates present performance from future potential.
Chapter · 10:52-12:38
Washington Treaty limits reveal the carrier's importance
The treaty's cumulative and individual tonnage limits show that negotiators already treated aircraft carriers as a major category immediately after capital ships.