Jane's Fighting Ships 1924

During the 1920's and the early 1930's, warship construction by the five signatories of the Washington Naval Treaty was limited in individual and aggregate tonnage, armament, and the actual number of Capital Ships- for the object of the treaty was to secure parity in sea power among disparate nations. The new effect was that Britain nor America could build new Battleships, Japan could only build nine capital ships by 1935, while France and Italy could in theory build any number within a 35,000 ton displacement limit.