The Greenland High Command, along with many others, were certain that the new cruiser limit would be set at 15,000 tons and 10" guns. Why? Because so many countries had armoured cruisers that were up to 15,000 tons and they would be allowed to be kept at that level. The shock announcement of the 10,000 and 8" gun limit for treaty cruisers, sent everybody scrambling for new designs. New guns had to be designed and built as well. The old armoured cruisers (see Hasdrubal class) would have to be downgraded or scrapped. This left a large hole in capable cruisers for Greenland. There was nothing wrong with the 5'5" armed cruisers but Greenland would have to build the new cruiser size or fall behind the rest. The designers got out their slide rules and went to work. Their report to the Admiralty was very short and succinct: trying to build a decent 8" cruiser on 10,000 tons was virtually impossible. The designers said that if they could go to 12,000-12,500 tons a much more capable ship could be built. So with official connivance the new cruiser class would be over the limit. Three pairs were laid down in 1924, 1925 and 1926 with completion dates 3-4 years later.
The connivance in ending up with overweight ships was more by mis-reporting what was aboard as outright fibbing. Saying they were twin torpedo tubes when they were actually quadruple sets. Putting aboard five single 4" when knowing these would be replaced with new dual purpose weapons once they finished their development cycle. Reporting 3" belt armour when it was actually 4.5", and so on. This was in line with the French and way below what the Italians and Germans reported on their "10,000" ton cruisers. The Hipper class made a real mockery of the limit.
By 1940 the Maweth was a much more capable ship than when it joined the fleet in 1928. The electronics had gone from nothing to Radar, predictors, directors, air search, sea search, it had it all. The electronics were upgraded during the war to become better and better.
