| Second London Naval Treaty |
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The signatories were the governments of France , the United Kingdom , and the United States Of America . The government of Japan , which had been a signatory of the First London Naval Treaty , had withdrawn from the conference on January 15 . Italy also declined to sign the treaty, largely as a result of public hostility over her invasion of Abyssinia . The conference was intended to limit the growth in naval armaments until its expiry in 1942 . The absence of Japan (a very significant naval power) prevented agreement on a ceiling on the numbers of warships. The treaty did limit the maximum size of the signatories' ships, and the maximum calibre of the guns which they could carry. For example, Submarine s could not be larger than 2,000 tons or have a gun armament of greater than 5.1-inches, Cruiser s were restricted to 8,000 tons or less and Capital Ship s to 35,000 tons and 14-inch guns. An escalator clause was included which allowed capital ships 16-inch guns and 45,000 tons displacement if foreign navies began commissioning such ships. This treaty effectively ended on and the ''South Dakota'' Class (the "SoDaks" were designed with and protected against 16-inch guns; the ''North Carolina''s were gunned with 16-inch weapons after Japan refused to accept the Treaty but they were designed to be only proof against 14-inch shells). The ''Iowa'' Class was designed after the beginning of World War II and was developed without any thought in mind of the treaties; other than the monstrous ''Yamato'' Class , the ''Iowa'' class was the heaviest class of battleship ever put to sea (''Vanguard'' was heavier than the ''Iowa''s at standard loading, but lighter at full load). Article 22 of the 1930 Treaty of London relating to submarine warfare declared that International Law applied to them as to surface vessels. Also merchant vessels which did not demonstrate "persistent refusal to stop" or "active resistance" could not be sunk without the ship's crew and passengers being first delivered to a "place of safety". The 1936 treaty confirmed that Article 22 of the 1930 treaty remained in force, and "all others Powers invited to express their assent to the rules embodied in this Article" Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armaments, (Part IV, Art. 22, relating to submarine warfare). London, 22 April 1930 Procès-verbal relating to the Rules of Submarine Warfare set forth in Part IV of the Treaty of London of 22 April 1930. London, 6 November 1936 It was this provision which was used at the post war Nuremberg Trial of Karl Dönitz for ordering Unrestricted Submarine Warfare . EXTERNAL LINK Text of treaty on Navweaps.com SEE ALSO
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