Hi Oberon_706
2) How the 'New' FINDF ? change the LNT ? (how would they share out the CA tonnage ?) and the building capabilities of British yards ?('additional delays in build and the prioritization of Royal Navy orders' would they not be treated as part of the RN ?)
In this AU the Falklands doesn't start to establish its own navy till after the Washington Naval Treaty is enacted and is therefore not subject to it. In addition, the London Naval Treaty wasn't truly adhered to by any of the signatories, especially after Japan and Germany pulled out/ignored it in the reconstruction of their battle fleets. For any of the other nations to have adhered 100% to the LNT would have put them at a severe disadvantage in any coming conflict. Ships like the KGV class etc were really only treaty compliant on paper, and even then their compliance with the treaty limitations was debatable. Whilst i haven't written that part of the AU history yet, it's my intent that the Falklands are an independent signatory of the LNT, but, just as with Britain and America, strategic and practical realities mean that ships built after the treaty aren't always truly compliant with it.
3) Would they not just order RN type ships (I know that spoils the fun of drawing new ships
). I would think the FI would build what it was suggested to (after debating the cost) by the RN, They would want more smaller units to cover a larger area (and you can always team up to fight a large raider).
You'll note that the original Royal Navy plan was to build 7 of the York Class Heavy Cruisers, but that the conditions of the LNT, plus changes in the ethos of RN designers regarding cruisers saw 5 of the 7 ship order cancelled. My intent in this AU is that the Falklands gave the RN the chance to field more big gun cruisers under the treaty without them actually counting to the RN tonnage limits, operational practicalities of the commonwealth fleets meaning that in a large-scale war the Falklands ships would operate in RN formations anyway, being just as good as owning/operating the ships themselves.
4) you cant lay down a 10,000+ ship pre 37 ? unless you are very estranged from GB ? (WNT/LNT/LNT2).
see answers to previous points
JSB
My understanding of the WNT/LNT is that all the empire/dominions are included in the RN tonnage/numbers, So the ships or the RAN etc, all count as British for the purposes of the treaty.
I'm sure that all the powers will insist that the FI are included into the same total.
Without this provision the treaty is just to easy for GB to cheat as it has loads of semi independent dominions and could even subsidise selling them capital ships.(or they could have just kept HMAS Australia (1911), HMS New Zealand (1911) or even HMS Malaya
)
I think that B only started to walk away from the treaty's in 1937 or later ie. LNT2 rather than WNT/LNT1.
So The FI cant build CA/CLs(at least not many) till its to late as BGs yards will be to full.
Defensive treaties such as the ones with USA/Australia/UK come in to play chiefly when the nation is in direct peril, just as alliances such as ANZUS would.
I think they totally change the outcome as Argentina cant pretend it can fight with USA/Australia/UK, they only started it as they thought that the UK wasn't interested and would accept it post fact.
IMO, its your AU.
JSB