In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, heavily limiting shipbuilding to prevent another Naval Arms Race in the wake of WW1. However, in this alt-history scenario, the Washington Naval Treaty is beleaguered by issues as member nations refuse to cooperate, with the only willing participant being Great Britain. With the now heavily weakened Treaty not going into effect until 1927, and having a massive loophole in the form of a Grandfather Clause, allows many Post-WW1 shipbuilding projects to be commissioned into their respective navies. No max fleet tonnage is put in place, but rather, a max tonnage restriction by ship. The main reasons for the resulting massive shipbuilding boom varied from nation to nation, but was the result from either imperialistic desires (Germany and Japan), Nationalism (Italy, Russia), or defense (France, GB and USA). While most nations naval projects remained relatively mundane and reasonable, by 1939, with the world on the edge of war, Nations began to ramp up "mega" projects, in an insane arms race the Washington Treaty was meant to avoid. With the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the World was at War once again.
10 parts