500.A15A3/1777
The Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Navy (Swanson)
My Dear Mr. Secretary: With reference to the Acting Secretary’s communication of April 25, 1936,4 requesting that it be ascertained if the British Government intends to invoke Article 21 of the London Treaty in regard to any category or categories of ships, and, if so, how much excess tonnage it contemplates retaining in any category or categories, and specifically that inquiry be made as to: (1) when the British Government will make formal notification with respect to the [Page 134] action it contemplates in order that the amount of completed tonnage in the cruiser category which may be retained, under Article 16 of the London Naval Treaty, 1930, by the Members of the British Commonwealth of Nations on December 31, 1936, may not be exceeded; (2) if indication has been received from the Japanese Government in reply to a note said to have been sent to it on this subject; and (3) if the British Government proposes to invoke Article 2 of the London Naval Treaty, 1930, to retain an additional 40,000 tons of destroyers, I desire to enclose copies of a despatch, dated May 2, 1936, and a telegram of May 11, 1936,5 from the Embassy at London, giving the replies to questions (1) and (2). No word has so far been received with regard to question (3), destroyers.
In reply to (1), the Embassy transmits a memorandum from the British Government5a which, after referring to the proposal to convert three Hawkins class cruisers from (A) to (B), London Treaty, 1930, cruisers and scrap five (B) class cruisers, leaving the total cruiser strength of the British Commonwealth of Nations under 339,000 tons, inquires whether the United States Government has objection to the conversion of a fourth Hawkins class cruiser into a training ship as prescribed in Annex 2, Section V (b) 2, of the London Naval Treaty, 1930, that is by the removal of one-half the guns; retaining four guns of main calibre; the removal of all torpedo tubes; the removal of all aviation facilities and accessories; and the removal of one-half of the boilers.
In reply to (2), the Embassy in its telegram of May 11, reports that no Japanese reply has as yet been received by the British Government. The Japanese were given official notice at the same time the memoranda were handed to the American Embassy.
Sincerely yours,