The failure of naval disarmament brought with it, as a natural corollary, the demand for naval rearmament. The reversal was not automatic. The attempt to disarm continued after the need to rearm became apparent. Moreover, the frustration of naval limitation did not bring with it an immediate turn to unlimited rearmament. There was a period of transition in which alternatives were sought. For the British Government, hemmed in by a precarious economy and an apathetic public, the turn from a policy of disarmament to a policy of rearmament was not an easy one. It involved many choices and compromises. The dilemmas before the British Government and the various solutions which they tested during the transitional phase is a third thread in this study.