Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 205" video.

  1. wrt the question about Hood. The USN had very detailed information. An Admiralty engineer named Goodall had been seconded to USN Bureau of Construction and Repair. where he both provided information on Hood, and advised on the redesign of the Lexingtons. The US SecNav and members of the General Board had gone on a European junket in the spring of 1919, which included a stop to look over Hood. As soon as they came back from the trip, they redesigned the Lexingtons based on their examination of Hood. Yes, everything the Americans were shown on Hood, and everything Goodall said could have been disinformation, but the information appears to be fairly accurate. Goodall's input on the Lexingtons included decent armor, which the USN declined in favor of more speed. I have read that, during the treaty negotiations, the British were open to an individual ship displacement limit of some 43,000 tons, the same as Hood. I give the Brits points for intellectual honesty on that point. The US declined, and insisted on the 35,000 ton limit.
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  2.  @richardcutts196  The Washington treaty explicitly prohibited changes in side armor. One of the Renowns was in the process of having her side armor improved when the treaty was negotiated, so work on that one ship was allowed to be completed, but no more.
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