On 18 June 1935, the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany sign the Anglo-German Naval Agreement — the understanding allowing the Kriegsmarine to reach 35% of British surface tonnage.

Negotiated by Joachim von Ribbentrop and the British side, the deal de facto breaches Versailles limits and overrides French and Italian protests. German U-boats may reach 45% of British tonnage, with an option of equality.

London sought a bilateral arrangement to limit a naval race; Berlin gained legitimacy for rearmament. Hitler denounced the agreement in April 1939.

For 1930s diplomacy, 18 June 1935 marks British conciliation toward German naval rearmament.

The text appears in British and German diplomatic collections.

The Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 18 June 1935 remains a marker of German naval rearmament before the war.

The 35% ratio let Germany build a modern fleet without immediate London sanctions.

Image: navy / 1935; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Anglo-German Naval Agreement. Treaty text: Anglo-German Naval Agreement (Avalon).