Washington Naval Treaty
Japan was spared the possibly ruinous expense of following through on this construction plan by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Under the terms of the treaty all the ships still being built - which meant all ships started after Nagato, the first ship of the 1916 building program - had to be broken up or converted into aircraft carriers. A special exemption was made for the battleship Mutsu, which was nearing completion and which had a special place in many Japanese hearts, with many of the funds for her construction raised by public subscription.
The treaty established a maximum tonnage for the Japanese navy as 60% of the U.S. Navy and the British Royal Navy. For this reason, it was vociferously opposed by many Imperial Japanese Navy officers, including Admiral Satō Tetsutarō. This group formed the influential Fleet Faction which later achieved Japan's withdrawal from the treaty. Ironically, the treaty probably restricted British and especially American ship building much more than Japanese.
Although Japanese Navy procurement still proceeded along the lines of initial "Eight-Eight Fleet" plans for several years, changes in naval strategy and the development of naval aviation made the term an anachronism by the 1930s.
Read more about this topic: Eight-eight Fleet
Famous quotes containing the words washington, naval and/or treaty:
“Herein is the explanation of the analogies, which exist in all the arts. They are the re-appearance of one mind, working in many materials to many temporary ends. Raphael paints wisdom, Handel sings it, Phidias carves it, Shakspeare writes it, Wren builds it, Columbus sails it, Luther preaches it, Washington arms it, Watt mechanizes it. Painting was called “silent poetry,” and poetry “speaking painting.” The laws of each art are convertible into the laws of every other.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The world was a huge ball then, the universe a might harmony of ellipses, everything moved mysteriously, incalculable distances through the ether.
We used to feel the awe of the distant stars upon us. All that led to was the eighty-eight naval guns, ersatz, and the night air-raids over cities. A magnificent spectacle.
After the collapse of the socialist dream, I came to America.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came;
Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)