In the 20s and 30s some of the major powers signed naval treaties to limit production, size, etc., of naval fleets and vessels. Japan started to violate it when they increased their fleet. After Pearl Harbor, when the US started to expand the Navy, did they ignore the treaties and build bigger, faster, and better-armed ships than the treaties allowed?
The treaties expired. I put the Washington Treaty online bavk in 1993. The rest can be found in FRUS.
As always, Larry is correct. The provisions in both the Five-Power Treaty of 1922 and the 1930 treaty were set to expire in 1936. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/london-naval-conf Also, this U.S. Shipbuilding After the Conference Although it was described as an “arms limitation conference,” in actuality, the London Naval Treaty set limits above the current capacity of some of the powers involved. The U.S. Senate approved the treaty in July of 1930 over the objections of key naval officers concerned that the naval limitations would inhibit the American ability to defend its control of the Philippine islands. Then the United States actually embarked on a shipbuilding program to make up the difference between its existing cruiser tonnage and what it was allotted under the treaty. That building ultimately helped to alleviate some unemployment caused by the Great Depression. In 1935, the powers met for a second London Naval Conference to renegotiate the Washington and London treaties before their expiration the following year. The Japanese walked out of that conference, but Great Britain, France, and the United States signed an agreement declaring a six-year holiday on building large light cruisers in the 8,000 to 10,000 ton range. That final decision marked the end to the decade-long controversy over cruisers. Same source.
