Themes

Conflict and Change

• Introduction

• In Focus: 1900

• In Focus: World War One

• In Focus: Interwar

  • Surface Fleet

  • Submarines

  • Royal Marines

  • Fleet Air Arm

• In Focus: World War Two

• In Focus: Post War Conflict

• In Focus: Cold War Climate

• In Focus: Falklands and Beyond

• Special Exhibition: Falklands 25

Learning

• How To: Understand Propaganda

• Propaganda Image Galleries

• Education Project: Sea With Your Own Eyes

Interwar: Surface Fleet

Article Highlights

• Introduction

• Decommissioning and limitation

• Washington Treaty

• The Interwar ships

• Threat of war

• Rearmanent

Threat of War

The restrictions on warship design seen in the 1920s only became more acute in the early 1930s with the World Depression and heightened calls for disarmament. Although Germany was still a long way behind the British in terms of size their expansion was rapid and Britain hoped to curb it. The talks in May 1935 that produced the Anglo-German agreement ran smoothly and produced a quick agreement. Germany could build up to 35% of British tonnage in any class and 45% of British submarine numbers. Importantly, implicit in the agreement was the accepting of the Washington treaty of 1922 and the limits on ships sizes that imposed.

As War loomed larger towards the end of the 1930s countries officially and unofficially withdrew themselves from the treaties that limited warship design. Japan withdrew from the limitations in 1936. Italy who had simply lied about their ships’ sizes had invaded Abyssinia in 1935 and now seemed to threaten Britain’s dominance in the Mediterranean. In 1936 Germany and Japan signed the Anti- Comintern pact and were joined by Italy a year later.

Kent County Class Cruisers in formation during the Abyssinian War, 1936 (RNM)