Rome Naval Conference – 1924

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

[Reservations and votes against specific clauses are noted in footnotes. Abstentions are not noted.]

Albania, Argentine, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, Esthonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hedjaz, Honduras, Hungary, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Persia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Roumania, Salvador, San Domingo, The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Siam, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, The Union of the Socialist Soviet Republics, 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 the capital ships specified in Chapter II, Part I.

Article 3. – The High Contracting Parties shall abandon their respective capital-ship building programmes, and no new ship of this class shall be constructed or acquired by any of the High Contracting Parties except replacement tonnage in respect of the ships specified in Chapter II, Part I, and the supplementary tonnage which may be constructed or acquired as specified in Chapter II, Part 2.[1]

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 tonnage of each of the following High Contracting Parties shall not exceed in standard displacement:[2]

For Brazil: 80,000 tons[3]

For Chile: 80,000 tons[4]

For Denmark: 18,000 tons

For Greece: 36,000 tons[5]

For the Netherlands: 26,550 tons

For Norway: 16,048 tons

For Spain: 105,000 tons[6]

For Sweden: 60,000 tons[7]

For the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics 480,000 tons[8]

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 total tonnage for aircraft-carriers for each of the High Contracting Parties shall not exceed in standard displacement one-third of the total capital-ship replacement tonnage allowable of such High Contracting Party.[9]

Article 8. – The replacement of aircraft-carriers shall be effected only as prescribed in Chapter II, Part 2, of the present Convention; aircraft carriers so replaced shall be disposed of as prescribed in the third part of the same Chapter.

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. Such vessels may, however, be used as training ships under the conditions laid down for France and Italy in the Washington Treaty, or as stationary coast-defence units, either moored or made fast or beached and after removal of motors; in this case, the name of the vessel and the use to which it is intended to be put will be intimated to the Council of the League of Nations.

Article 14. – No preparations shall be made in merchant ships in time of peace for the installation of warlike armaments, 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 the Council 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 1. – Capital Ships which may be retained by the High Contracting Parties

1 The total replacement capital-ship tonnage of Denmark has been fixed at 18,000 (see Article 4) by reason of the “Niels Juel” being originally intended as a capital ship.

2 Scrapped as capital ships subsequent to November 12^th 1921

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 only within the limits prescribed in Article 4 and Article 7.

The keels of such new construction may not be laid down earlier than seventeen years from the date of completion of the unit to be replaced, subject, however, to the condition that, unless otherwise provided in the exceptions given below, no capital ship tonnage shall be laid down until ten years from November 12^th, 1921.[11]

Exceptions:

For Brazil: Brazil may lay down capital-ship tonnage in 1927 not exceeding 35,000 tons.

For Chile: Chile may lay down capital-ship tonnage in 1927 not exceeding 35,000 tons.

For Greece: Greece may complete the “Salamis” (20,000 tons) to replace the “Kilkis” and the “Limnos”, subject to the conditions for replacement and scrapping laid down in the Treaty of Washington and in article 13 of the present Convention.[12]

For Spain: Spain may lay down new vessels in 1927, 1929 and 1931, provided that the individual tonnage shall not exceed 35,000 tons and that the total fleet shall not exceed 105,000 tons.[13]

For Sweden: Sweden may lay down capital-ship tonnage in 1927 not exceeding 24,000 tons to replace scrapped vessels.[14]

(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 per cent 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 in accordance with Articles 2, 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 else 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, or, 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 successor. 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.[15]

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 10.

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, which 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 will arrange for a conference of all the High HContracting 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.

The Council of the League will in such case advise as to what temporary modification, if any, should be made in the Convention as between the remaining High Contracting Parties and will, if necessary, or if desired by one of the High Contracting Parties, call a conference of these Powers with a view to obtaining agreement. Should such consultation not produce agreement, any one of the High Contracting Parties may, by giving notice to the Council of the League of Nations, suspend for the period of hostilities its obligations under the present Convention, other than those under Articles 13 and 17.

On the cessation of hostilities, the Council of the League of Nations will advise as to what modifications, if any, should be made in the provisions of the present Convention and will, if necessary, or if desired by one of the High Contracting Parties, call a conference of the High Contracting Parties to consider these questions.

Article 22. – The present Convention shall remain in force until December 31^st, 1936, and in case none of the High Contracting Parties shall have given notice two years before that date of its intention to terminate the Convention, it shall continue in force until the expiration of two years from the date on which notice of termination shall be given by one of the High Contracting Parties, whereupon the Convention shall terminate as regards all the High Contracting Parties. Such notice shall be communicated in writing to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations to be laid before the Council, and shall be deemed to have been given, and shall take effect, from the date on which it is received by the Secretary-General.

After the receipt of a notice of termination from any Power, the Council of the League of Nations will summon a conference of all the High Contracting Parties, to take place within one year of the date or receipt of such notice.

Article 23. – In all cases in the present Convention where one or more of the High Contracting Parties undertakes to notify or inform the Council of the League of certain facts or of action taken, the Council of the League will communicate, in the shortest possible time, such facts or action to each of the other High Contracting Parties.

Article 24. – The present Convention shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional methods.

The ratifications shall be deposited with the Secretariat of the League of Nations, and the Convention shall come into force when the ratifications of all the States named in Chapter II, Part I, as now possessing capital ships have been so deposited.

The Secretary-General of the League of Nations will transmit to each of the High Contracting Parties a certified copy of the proces-verbal of the deposit of ratifications.

In faith whereof, the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention.

[1] Belgium stated that she desired to acquire a minimum of four monitors, each to be less than 10,000 tons, and to carry an armament consisting of one or two heavy naval guns with a calibre in excess of 8 inches but less than 16-inches. The USSR reserved the right to construct new capital ships to reach the specified maximum limit (490,000 tons).

[2] The Japanese delegate declared that his support for any allocations was subject to the acceptance in principle by the countries in question (a) of the determination of replacement tonnage figure derived from consideration of existing strength; (b) of the application of the Naval Holiday.

[3] Brazil made the reservation that acceptance of a common limit of 80,000 tons with Chile and Argentine did not imply that she adopted a principle of equality or equivalence of the naval forces of the three countries.

[4] Chile reserved the right to build a tonnage of capital ships up to the limit allotted to her.

[5] Subject to the reserve made by Greece: (1) That Turkey will accept the same tonnage limit. (2) That she will scrap the “Kilkis” and “Limnos” without replacing them, provided that Turkey does not retain the “Sultan Selim”, (3) That Greece will remain free to increase her tonnage if Turkey proceeds to build or acquire other capital vessels than “Sultan Selim”, “Torgud Reis”, “Idjalieh”.

[6] The British Empire, France, Italy, Netherlands and Norway voted against this allocation. The Belgian Czechoslovakian and Japanese representatives subsequently stated that they had voted for this allocation under the impression that Spain would not ask for an exception to the application of the Naval Holiday.

[7] Subject to the reserve made by Sweden that all other riparian States of the Baltic Sea do not exceed the same tonnage in the Baltic and the Arctic Seas

[8] Brazil, British Empire, France, Italy, Japan and Sweden voted against this allocation. The USSR subsequently submitted a proposal for 280,000 tons subject to the following conditions: (1) That the Council of the League of Nations is replaced in the draft by another organisation. (2) That the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (Straits) are closed, in accordance with the proposal which the USSR made at the Lausanne Conference. (3) That vessels of war belonging to non-riparian States of the Baltic are forbidden access to the Baltic by the Sound and Belt. (4) That the Straits of Korea are demilitarised (Disarmed). (5) That the vessels of war at present retained at Bizerta are restored to the Union. The Commission was unanimously of the opinion that it was not competent to consider this proposal in view of the political nature of these conditions.

[9] Chile only accepted this article subject to the reservation that Chile should be allocated an aircraft carrier limit of at least two-thirds of Chile’s authorised capital ship tonnage.

[10] The USSR wanted to insert a note “The Union of the Socialist Soviet Republics reserves to itself the right to increase its total tonnage up to a limit of 490,000 tons.”

[11] The Soviet Union could not accept that part of this article beginning with the words “subject, however”

[12] Subject to the reservation by Greece that if it is impossible to complete Salamis for reasons outside the control of Greece, she reserves her right to lay down or acquire as from 1924 capital ships not exceeding 26,000 tons to replace the battleships Kilkis and Limnos.

[13] Belgium, Brazil, British Empire, France, Italy, Japan and Netherlands voted against this provision.

[14] Brazil and France voted against this provision.

[15] Greece reserved the right to postpone the necessary work for rendering the battleships Kilkis and Limnos incapable of further warlike service in accordance with paragraph 3 of Part 3 until the completion of Salamis.

Source:  C. 76. 1924 IX (C.P.C./S.C.N. 31. 1924), Extension to Non-Signatory States of the Principles of the Treaty of Washington for the Limitation of Naval Armaments – Report to the Council – Proceedings of the Second Session held at the Palazzo della Prefettura, Rome, from February 14^th to 25^th, 1924, League of Nations - Naval Sub-Commission of the Permanent Advisory Commission for Military, Naval and Air Questions, ADF Defence Information Service: 29.02, 13312, pp7-21