Naval Sub-Commission, Geneva - 1922

Draft Convention for the Extension of the Washington Naval Treaty to the Non-Signatory Powers of the League of Nations

Albania, Argentine, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Esthonia, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Persia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Roumania, Salvador, the Ser-Croat-Slovene State, Siam, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Uruguay, Venezuela, having taken note of the naval Agreement entered into at Washington by certain Powers, and desiring also to contribute to the maintenance of the general peace and to prevent competition in armaments;

Have resolved, with a view to accomplishing these purposes, to conclude a Convention to impose limitations on their respective naval armaments corresponding to those agreed to at Washington, and to that end having appointed as their plenipotentiaries:-

…

Who, having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed as follows:-

CHAPTER I.

Article 1.– The High Contracting Parties agree to limit their respective naval Armaments as provided in the present Convention.

Article 2. – The High Contracting Parties may retain respectively all vessels of war built or building on November 12^th, 1921, of which those exceeding the limitations prescribed for the future by the present Convention are specified in Chapter II, Part I.

Article 3 – No new capital ships shall be constructed or acquired by any of the High Contracting Parties except replacement tonnage for the vessels specified in Chapter II, Part I, which may be constructed or acquired as specified in Chapter II, Part 2.

Ships which are replaced in accordance with Chapter II, Part 2, shall be disposed of as prescribed in Part 3 of that Chapter.

Article 4. – The total capital ship replacement tonnage of each of the following High Contracting Parties shall not exceed in standard displacement: for Argentine 81,000 tons (82,290 metric tons); for Brazil 45,000 tons (45,714 metric tons); for Chile 35,000 tons (35,560 metric tons); for Denmark 13,000 tons (13,206 metric tons); for Greece 36,000 tons (36,571 metric tons); for Netherlands 26,000 tons (26,412 metric tons); for Norway 16,000 tons (16,254 metric tons); for Spain 81,000 tons (82,290 metric tons); for Sweden 62,000 tons (62,894 metric tons).

Note. – Article 4 has been drafted in strict accordance with the principles of the status quo. Nevertheless, the majority of the Members of the Naval Sub-Commission feel bound to call the attention of the Council to the resulting inequality between the respective naval forces of the three South American States: Argentine, Brazil and Chile, whereas, from a technical and general consideration of the circumstances of these States, they consider that they should logically have equivalent naval forces, the total tonnage in capital ships remaining, however, below 80,000.

Article 5. – No capital ship exceeding 35,000 tons, (35,560 metric tons) standard displacement shall be acquired by, or constructed by, for, or within the jurisdiction of, any of the High Contracting Parties.

Article 6. – No capital ship of any of the High Contracting Parties shall carry a gun with a calibre in excess of sixteen inches (406 millimetres).

Article 7. – The High Contracting Parties may not construct aircraft carriers except within a total tonnage limit equal to one-third of their total tonnage in capital ships.

Article 8. – The replacement of aircraft-carriers shall be effected only as prescribed in Chapter II, Part 2, of the present Convention.

Article 9. – No aircraft-carrier exceeding 27,000 tons (27,432 metric tons) standard displacement shall be acquired by, or constructed by, for, or within the jurisdiction of, any of the High Contracting Parties.

Article 10. – No aircraft-carrier of any of the High Contracting Parties shall carry a gun with a calibre in excess of 8 inches (203 millimetres). If the armament carried includes guns exceeding six inches (152 millimetres) in calibre, the total number of guns carried, except anti-aircraft guns and guns not exceeding 5 inches (127 millimetres), shall not exceed ten. If, alternatively, the armament contains no guns exceeding six inches (152 millimetres) in calibre, the number of guns is not limited.

In either case the number of anti-aircraft guns and of guns not exceeding 5 inches (127 millimetres) in calibre is not limited.

Article 11. – No vessel of war exceeding 10,000 tons (10,160 metric tons) standard displacement, other than a capital ship or aircraft-carrier, shall be acquired by, or constructed by, for, or within the jurisdiction of, any of the High Contracting Parties.

Vessels not specifically built as fighting ships nor taken in time of peace under Government control for fighting purposes, which are employed on fleet duties or as troop transports or in some other way for the purpose of assisting in the prosecution of hostilities otherwise than as fighting ships, shall not be within the limitations of this Article.

Article 12. – No vessel of war of any of the High Contracting Parties hereafter laid down, other than a capital ship, shall carry a gun with a calibre in excess of eight inches (203 millimetres).

Article 13. – No ship to be scrapped after replacement in accordance with the present Convention may be reconverted into a vessel of war.

Article 14. – No preparations shall be made in merchant ships in time of peace for the installation of warlike armaments for the purpose of converting such ships into vessels of war, other than the necessary stiffening of decks for the mounting of guns not exceeding 6 inches (152 millimetres) in calibre.

Article 15. – No vessel of war constructed within the jurisdiction of any of the High Contracting Parties for a non-Contracting Power shall exceed the limitations as to displacement and armament prescribed by the present Convention for vessels of a similar type which may be constructed by or for any of the High Contracting Powers.

Article 16. – If the construction of any vessel of war for a non-Contracting Party is undertaken within the jurisdiction of any of the High Contracting Parties, such Party shall promptly inform the Council of the League of Nations of the date of the signing of the contract and the date on which the keel of the ship is laid; and shall also communicate to them the particulars relating to the ship prescribed in Chapter II, Part 2 (b), 4 and 5, of the present Convention.

Article 17. – In the event of a High Contracting Party being engaged in war, such Party shall not use as a vessel of war any vessel of war which may be under construction within its jurisdiction for any other Power, or which may have been constructed within its jurisdiction for another Power and not delivered.

Article 18. – Each of the High Contracting Parties undertakes not to dispose by gift, sale or any mode of transfer of any vessel of war in such a manner that such vessel may become a vessel of war in the navy of any foreign Power.

Article 19. – The rules for determining tonnage displacement prescribed in Chapter II, Part 4, shall apply to the ships of each of the High Contracting Parties.

CHAPTER II.

PART I.

List of Capital Ships at present possessed by the High Contracting Parties

PART 2

Replacement.

The replacement of capital ships and aircraft carriers shall take place according to the following rules:

(a) Capital ships and aircraft carriers may be replaced by new construction twenty years after the date of their completion, but within the limits prescribed in Article 4 and Article 7.

The keels of such new construction may be laid down not earlier than seventeen years from the date of completion of the tonnage to be replaced, provided, however, that no capital ship tonnage shall be laid down until ten years from November 12^th, 1921.

(b) Each of the High Contracting Parties shall communicate promptly to the Council of the League of Nations the following information:

1. The names of the capital ships and aircraft carriers to be replaced by new construction;

2. The date of governmental authorisation of replacement tonnage;

3. The date of laying the keels of replacement tonnage;

4. The standard displacement in tons and metric tons of each new ship to be laid down, and the principal dimensions namely, length at waterline, extreme beam at or below waterline, mean draft at standard displacement;

5. The date of completion of each new ship and its standard displacement in tons and metric tons, and the principal dimensions, namely, length at waterline, extreme beam at or below waterline, mean draft at standard displacement, at time of completion.

(c) In case of loss or accidental destruction of capital ships or aircraft carriers, they may immediately be replaced by new construction subject to the tonnage limits prescribed in Articles 4 and 7 and in conformity with the other provisions of the present Convention, the regular replacement programme being deemed to be advanced to that extent.

In the event of the replacement of a capital ship or aircraft carrier under this clause, the total tonnage possessed shall be kept within the limits laid down for replacement in Articles 4 and 7 by the scrapping, in accordance with the terms of Chapter II, Part 3, of such old vessels as may be necessary.

(d) No capital ship or aircraft-carrier shall be reconstructed except for the purpose of providing means of defence against air and submarine attack, and subject to the following rules; The High Contracting Parties may, for that purpose, equip existing tonnage with bulge or blister or anti-air attack deck protection, provided the increase of displacement thus effected does not exceed 15% of the original displacement for each ship. No alteration in side armour, in calibre, number or general type of mounting of main armament shall be permitted.

PART 3.

Rules for the Disposal of Ships Replaced.

The following rules shall be observed for the scrapping of capital ships and aircraft carriers which are to be disposed of when replaced by new construction in accordance with Articles 3 and 8.

I. – A vessel to be scrapped must be placed in such condition that it cannot be put to combatant use.

II. – This result must be finally effected in any one of the following ways:

(a) Permanent sinking of the vessel.

(b) Breaking the vessel up. This shall always involve the destruction or removal of all machinery, boilers and armour, and all deck, side and bottom plating.

(c) Converting the vessel to target use exclusively. In such case all the provisions of paragraph III of this part, except sub-paragraph (6), in so far as may be necessary to enable the ship to be used as a mobile target, and except sub-paragraph (7), must be previously complied with. Not more than one capital ship may be retained for this purpose at one time by any of the High Contracting Parties.

III. – (a) When a vessel is due for scrapping, the first stage of scrapping, which consists of rendering a ship incapable of further warlike service, shall be immediately undertaken.

(b) A vessel shall be considered incapable of further warlike service when there shall have been removed and landed, or also destroyed in the ship:

(1) All guns and essential portions of guns, fire-control tops and revolving parts of all barbettes and turrets;

(2) All machinery for working hydraulic or electric mountings;

(3) All fire-control instruments and range finders;

(4) All ammunition, explosives and mines;

(5) All torpedoes, war heads and torpedo tubes;

(6) All wireless telegraphy installations;

(7) The conning tower and all side armour, alternatively all main propelling machinery; and

(8) All landing and flying-off platforms and all other aviation accessories.

IV. - The periods in which scrapping of vessels is to be effected are as follows:-

(a) The work of rendering the vessel incapable of further warlike service in accordance with paragraph III of this part shall be commenced not later than the date of completion of its successor, and shall be finished within six months from the date of such completion.

(b) The vessel shall be finally scrapped, in accordance with paragraph II of this part, within eighteen months from the date of completion of its successors. If, however, the completion of the new vessel shall be delayed, then the work of rendering the old vessel incapable of further warlike service in accordance with paragraph III of this part shall be commenced within four years from the laying of the keel of the new vessel, and shall be finished within six months from the date on which such work was commenced, and the old vessel shall be finally scrapped in accordance with paragraph II of this part within eighteen months from the date when the work of rendering it incapable of further warlike service was commenced.

PART 4.

Definitions

For the purposes of the present convention, the following expressions are to be understood in the sense defined in this Part.

Capital Ship

A capital ship, in the case of ships hereafter built, is defined as a vessel of war, not an aircraft-carrier, whose displacement exceeds 10,000 tons (10,160 metric tons) standard displacement, or which carries a gun with a calibre exceeding 8 inches (203 millimetres).

Aircraft Carrier

An aircraft carrier is defined as a vessel of war with a displacement in excess of 10,000 tons (10,160 metric tons) standard displacement designed for the specific and exclusive purpose of carrying aircraft. It must be so constructed that aircraft can be launched therefrom and landed thereon, and not designed and constructed for carrying a more powerful armament than that allowed to it under Article 11. [sic[1]]

Standard Displacement

The standard displacement of a ship is the displacement of the ship complete, fully manned, engined, and equipped ready for sea, including all armament and ammunition, equipment, outfit provisions and fresh water for crew, miscellaneous stores and implements of every description that are intended to be carried in war, but without fuel or reserve feed water on board.

The word "ton" in the present Convention, except in the expression "metric tons", shall be understood to mean the ton of 2,240 pounds (1,016 kilog).

Vessels now completed shall retain their present ratings of displacement tonnage in accordance with their national system of measurement. However, a Power expressing displacement in metric tons shall be considered for the application of the present Convention as owning only the equivalent displacement in tons of 2,240 pounds.

A vessel completed hereafter shall be rated at its displacement tonnage when in the standard condition defined herein.

CHAPTER III

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Article 20. – If during the term of the present Convention the requirements of the national security of any High Contracting Party in respect of naval defence are, in the opinion of that Party, materially affected by any change of circumstances, this opinion shall be communicated to the Council of the League of Nations, who will call a conference of the High Contracting Parties or take such other action as may be necessary for the reconsideration of the provisions of this Convention and its amendment by mutual agreement.

In view of possible technical and scientific developments and of the wording of Article 8 of the Covenant, which states that plans for reduction of armaments shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every ten years, the Council of the League of Nations shall arrange for a conference of all the High Contracting Parties which shall meet as soon as possible after the expiration of eight years from the coming into force of the present Convention to consider what changes, if any, in the Convention may be necessary to meet such developments.

Article 21. – Whenever any High Contracting Party shall become engaged in a war without having violated in any way its obligations as prescribed in the Covenant of the League of Nations, which in its opinion affects the naval defence of its national security, such Party may, after notice to the Council of the League, suspend for the period of hostilities its obligations under the present Convention other than those under Articles 13 and 17, provided that such Party shall notify the Council of the League that the emergency is of such a character as to require such suspension.

[Note that the copy of the draft convention contained in TNA: CAB/24/139 ends with the above Article 21, but it is believed that that copy is missing the remainder of Article 21, along with Articles 22-24, which would have been essentially identical to equivalent text in the Draft Convention of the Rome Conference which is reproduced at https://naval-arms-control-archive.site123.me/articles?limit=12&page=2.]

[1] The correct cross-reference was Article 10.

Source:  CP 4212, League of Nations, Report of the Temporary Mixed Commission on Armaments, 7 Sep 1922, pp78-82, TNA: CAB 24/139.