A 27,000-ton Ark Royal and Britain's carrier numbers problem

What would Ark Royal have looked like at 27,000 rather than 22,000 tons?

Ark Royal-style hangars, Illustrious-style protection, four shafts, and an unarmored flight deck are suggested. Britain still needed more hulls than five 27,000-ton ships could provide.

A 27,000-ton Ark Royal is imagined with Ark Royal-style hangars, Illustrious-style protection, four shafts, and an unarmored flight deck. The hangars would retain the same height. Britain could have accepted such an individual design, but the treaty allowance would permit only five ships at that displacement. British requirements covered home waters, the Mediterranean and the route to India, and the Far East against Japan. The desired minimum is put at seven carriers. Building nearer 22,000 tons could yield six ships, and that additional hull mattered more than maximizing the size of each carrier.