Office of the Historian

500.A15A5 Construction/201: Telegram

The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

London, June 28, 1938—6 p.m.
[Received June 28—2:40 p.m.]

571. My 563, June 27, 6 p.m. Following is text of proof copy furnished by the Foreign Office of the escalation protocol which is to be signed by French, British and American representatives on June 30 at noon:

“Whereas by article 4 (1) of the Treaty for the Limitation of Naval Armaments signed in London on the 25th March, 1936, it is provided that no capital ship shall exceed 35,000 tons (35,560 metric tons) standard displacement;

And whereas by reason of article 4 (2) of the said treaty the maximum calibre of gun carried by capital snips is 16 inches (406 mm.);

And whereas on the 31st March, 1938, His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America gave notice under paragraph (2) of article 25 of the said treaty of their decision to exercise the right provided for in paragraph (1) of the said article to depart from the limitations and restrictions of the treaty in regard to the upper limits of capital ships of sub-category (a);

And whereas consultations have taken place as provided in paragraph (3) of article 25, with a view to reaching agreement in order to reduce to a minimum the extent of the departures from the limitations and restrictions of the treaty;

The undersigned, duly authorized by their respective governments, have agreed as follows:

1.
As from this day’s date the figure of 35,000 tons (35,560 metric tons) in article 4 (1) of the said treaty shall be replaced by the figure of 45,000 tons (45,720 metric tons).
2.
The figure of 16 inches (406 mm.) in article 4 (2) remains unaltered.
3.
The present protocol, of which the French and English texts shall both be equally authentic, shall come into force on this day’s date.

[Page 917]

In faith whereof the undersigned have signed the present protocol. Done in London the 30th day of June 1938.”

Johnson

[The protocol as agreed upon, amending the Naval Treaty of March 25, 1936, was signed at noon, June 30, 1938, on behalf of the American, French and British Governments by Herschel V. Johnson, Roger Cambon, and Sir Alexander Cadogan, respectively; see Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 127, or 53 Stat. 1921.

The following communications from the British Foreign Office were delivered at the same time to the American representative: copies of notes from the Governments of Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand stating the agreement of those Governments that the upper limit for capital ships of sub-category (a) should be 45,000 tons, and a note from the British Government stating that two capital ships provided for in the current year’s estimates and to be laid down later in the year would not exceed 40,000 (40,640 metric) tons (500.A15A5 Construction/205).]