 In the aftermath of the First World War , the Washington Naval Treaty was drawn up in 1922 in an effort to stop an arms race developing between Britain , Japan , France , Italy and the United States . This treaty limited the number of ships each nation was allowed to build and capped the tonnage of all capital ships at 35 @,@ 000 tons . These restrictions were extended in 1930 through the Treaty of London , however , by the mid @-@ 1930s Japan and Italy had withdrawn from both of these treaties , and the British became concerned about a lack of modern battleships within their navy . As a result , the Admiralty ordered the construction of a new battleship class : the King George V class . Due to the provisions of both the Washington Naval Treaty and the Treaty of London , both of which were still in effect when the King George Vs were being designed , the main armament of the class was limited to the 14 @-@ inch ( 356 mm ) guns prescribed under these instruments . They were the only battleships built at that time to adhere to the treaty , and even though it soon became apparent to the British that the other signatories to the treaty were ignoring its requirements , it was too late to change the design of the class before they were laid down in 1937 . 
