Comments by "Gregory Wright" (@gregorywright4918) on "IJN Myoko - Guide 371" video.

The WNT was signed just a few years after the end of WW1, when many people blamed the naval arms race for the start of the war and civilian governments had reasserted themselves over their militaries and cut the forces for a "peace dividend". There was a difference in attitude in the armies and navies because they knew they would be the first to bleed when the other side started things again, and they looked for every advantage they could find. Nobody goes into military service thinking "if we all just disarm and sign treaties, we can all just live in peaceful kumbaya". In most cases the WNT was imposed on the navies by the civilians (read a book or two on the meetings and who proposed what), which worked a little better in the democracies but almost led to a revolt in the militaristic IJN. Designs were drafted by naval officers, but then had to be funded by governments, so there was often some pushing of the limits hidden in the designs that the governments may or may not have been aware of. Later on during the Depression, cost was an important factor in getting approvals, although some like the US pitched shipbuilding as a job assistance program.
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@d.olivergutierrez8690 IJN did build a non-treaty restricted design - the Yamatos.
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No one wanted to celebrate the IJN in 1945...
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There was no enforcement clause in the treaty. The government civilians who wrote it and agreed to it assumed that public exposure would shame governments into compliance. There were several suggestions of cheating from different naval officers, but no government followed up on it. The Escalator Clause was not an enforcement mechanism, rather it was a clause for when a party (Japan) left the system and built something bigger with bigger guns. It was invoked based on the rumors of the Yamato class, after which war began and the treaty rules were ignored (though some existing designs were treaty-compliant, like the Essexes).
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Not quite a fair comparison, as Yamato was only commissioned after Pearl Harbor. But they did try to hide their size and capabilities from the Allies, expecting that surprise would increase the likelihood of victory. Their strategy was to hold them back until the Big Fleet Battle, whittling down the enemy with light forces (led by cruisers) at night and long range.
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Part of the cruisers job was finding the enemy fleet, and aircraft were much better at that than ships. Aircraft also could spot the fall of shot for long-range firing, and they could be used at night to find and illuminate the enemy with parachute flares (at least in IJN fleet tactics). Float planes allowed them to spread the aircraft around rather than having them concentrated in just a few aircraft carriers, though this petered out after WW2 as aircraft got bigger and faster. The IJN did experiment with what you proposed with the Tone class, although that was planned to be used in conjunction with the real carriers as they did not have their own recon assets. The USN used "scout" bombers, which were just regular dive bombers given a lighter load and a bit more scouting training. As to the first question, yes, removing the plane equipment would free up some tons and deck space for guns or armor, but not a whole lot. Plus it would handicap the ships in their roles as scouts and decrease the capabilities for long-range and night-time fighting, both of which were very important to the IJN for countering the expected USN numerical advantage. Recommended reading: Kaigun by Evans & Peattie.
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@Ah01 I don't think they were going for deterrence, since they knew they would have to deal with the USN in any case, they just wanted the Yamatos to be a surprise.
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@Easy-Eight A bit of it went to the automation of the ammo handling, leading to the fastest firing 8 inch guns ever. They could pump more rounds out in a minute than Myoko could with an extra barrel.
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@John.0z The Essexes were designed while the US was still following the Treaty, and the first was ordered in 1940, laid down in 1941. The Treaty stipulated a maximum carrier size of 27,000 tons. During construction they did a lot of minor improvements that goosed them up a bit, but the basics of size, engines and armor had all been settled. The first "clean sheet" carrier was the Midway (which also was the first armored deck US carrier).
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On this ship, they wanted more than 8 guns, or 4 turrets with 2 each. To get high speed you need to keep the width down, so putting a third gun in each turret would force a wider beam. They also wanted a space for floatplanes, as that added greater scouting range, long-range gunfire control, and night flare tactics. Hence the original plan for three turrets up front and only one astern. The second astern was the late addition. As to Nelson, that is all about optimizing the armor layout. With the three turrets grouped together you decrease the length of the armor belt. Plus, you get all the heavy firepower up front so it can be used as you attack, instead of having to turn sideways to unmask your rear turrets.
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@BleedingUranium Yeah, but museum ships are paid for by visitors, and the public after 1945 did NOT want to visit enemy ships. Things might be different now, but if you've been to Battleship Cove it is sad how few people stop to look at the East German corvette or its Styx missiles. I doubt Prinz Eugen or Nagato would have fared any better.
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There was no enforcement mechanism in the treaty, each nation declared their own ships tonnage. No one was ever punished for lying.
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Kido Butai, the combined IJN fast carrier fleet (1st Air Fleet).
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@ivanconnolly7332 Backup cameras?
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The IJN had a "shadow carrier" plan where they built a couple "seaplane cruisers" and financed a couple cruise ships that were all designed for fast conversion to aircraft carriers when war got close. Unfortunately for them, the cruise ship engines chosen were not up to the demands put on them and suffered frequent breakdowns.
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Drach is an engineer, after all...
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Essentially that was a core principle of IJN strategy - minimize defensive features, maximize hitting power, speed and range. The Zero fighter and Betty bomber had the same ideas behind them. It worked well at the beginning when they had surprise advantage, but once Allies figured out their weaknesses they exploited them ruthlessly. Didn't help that IJN leaders pushed their ships and planes beyond their limits, leading to breakdowns and failures.
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@bkjeong4302 I would say destroyers also use this idea, as they have minimal armor, maximum speed, and small size.
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Because of he Long Lances?
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@readhistory2023 That was not how the IJN thought at that time. Ergonomics was a design issue much later, when the poor accommodations were shown to hurt crew performance, morale and fatigue.
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