A 20,000-ton Washington Treaty loophole

What would nations build if the Washington Naval Treaty capped cruisers at 20,000 tons?

Expect larger cruiser-carriers and heavily armed treaty cruisers, with the changed categories also pushing capital ships and carriers upward in size.

A 20,000-ton cruiser threshold would leave much larger ships outside the capital-ship limit in this scenario. Cruisers could carry twelve to fifteen 8-inch guns with substantial armour, while cruiser-carriers would exploit the room available below the threshold. The calculation then assumes carrier and capital-ship allowances rise by the same displacement differences used in the historical treaty. That produces a 37,000-ton carrier limit and a notional aggregate allowance of 185,000 tons, enough for seven carriers declared at about 26,300 tons each. A 45,000-ton capital-ship limit would also allow a faster, better-protected alternative to Nelson and Rodney. One suggestion is an F3-like fast battleship with twelve 16-inch guns in four triple turrets, divided between the bow and stern.