Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 322" video.

  1.  @Drachinifel  I agree entirely, the UK was working within it's budget and facility constraints. President Coolidge was notorious for his reluctance to spend anything on anything, including defense. He called a naval conference in 1927, to try to use a treaty to force the RN's cruiser force to be drawn down to the cruiser force Coolidge felt like funding for the USN. The UK wasn't having it, due to the size of the empire they needed to patrol. I read of comments like "the US is trying to buy parity on the cheap". Japan threatened to withdraw from the treaty, unless they were granted parity with the US and UK. The naval treaties are fascinating, for the parties each trying to advance their own national interest, while restraining the other parties. Everyone does it. It's their job to do it. It is fascinating to watch.
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  2. wrt changes in Second London, from my reading, Second London seemed to be more about the UK trying to push everyone else down to the sort of ships the UK wanted. I have read that Ark Royal was built the way she was, under the Washington limit of 27,000 tons, to maximize the number of drydocks around the empire that could accommodate her, so the treaty tried to push everyone else's carriers down to the same size. The UK had to build smaller cruisers to obtain the number of cruisers needed in the tonnage allowance available. The treaty tried to force everyone else's light cruisers down to the same size. Nothing in the earlier treaties said the UK could not build battleships with 15" or 14" guns. The French, and Italians, were perfectly happy to build 15" guns, when the treaty allowed 16". But someone in the Admiralty was pressing for 14". The decision to go 14" on the KGVs had been made before the Second London conference started. So, again, Second London was used to try to force everyone else down to the gun size the UK wanted to use. Same mindset came up when the US and UK were negotiating the displacement escalator in early 38. The UK was pushing for a 42,000 limit, as that was the maximum their facilities around the empire could accommodate. The US wanted 45,000, so the Iowas could be the ships they wanted. As we see with Lion, nothing prevented the UK building what suited it's needs, even if it was under the official limit. The consistent mindset in the UK, was to use the treaty to try to prevent anyone building anything more powerful than what the UK wanted to build. I could point out that Lord Chatfield was First Sea Lord from January 33 through September 38, so he was in a position to influence the design of the KGVs, Second London, and the negotiations for the battleship tonnage escalator.
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