It's early 1935, and
Germany is fast at work building up it's
ground and
air forces. Its
Navy, however, which was largely
scrapped at the end of
World War I, needed an overhaul. The
Treaty of Locarno, which imposed a weapons quota onto
Germany, stood in the way of Germany's naval prosperity.
Hitler had no desire to defy the treaty and
agitate the
British, who to this day possess one of the world's largest
fleets, before he was well prepared. So Hitler initiated
negotiations with Britain, and on June 18, 1935 the
Anglo-German Naval Agreement was born.
The agreement stated that Germany was allowed to build 45% of the total
tonnage of
submarines in the
British Navy. For every other class of ship, only 35% total
tonnage was allowed. The British weren't hesitant at all, and saw no problem in this agreement. They felt a
Navy of such a small fraction of their own would bring no threat to the homeland or precious trade routes.
To give an idea of what the
Germans had to work with, these are the tonnages that were allowed:
U-Boats (Subs): 42,000 tons
Aircraft Carriers: 47,000 tons
Heavy
Cruisers: 51,000 tons
Destroyers: 52,000 tons
Light
Cruisers: 67,000 tons
Battleships: 184,000 tons
Britain made a big mistake by allowing
Hitler to build more
U-boats, thinking that the future
scourges of the
North Atlantic were harmless. On top of that, Hitler, being one
sneaky bastard, lied about the number of ships that were already under construction.
This agreement did nothing in the long run, as it only served to
delay the inevitable. One year after the agreement, Hitler abandoned the
Treaty of Locarno, thus freeing Germany from any weapon quotas.
Sources:
World War II - A Photographic History, By: David Boyle
http://members.tripod.com/EFaust/anglo-ge.htm