Why Ranger is a fairer comparison for Bearn than Langley

Was Bearn a better aircraft carrier than Langley or Ranger?

Bearn may exceed the experimental Langley in some respects, but Ranger is the more useful ship and the fairer contemporary comparison.

Langley began as an experimental conversion while navies were still developing the carrier concept. Its original hull is corrected during the exchange from an oiler to a collier. Bearn belongs to a later design context, when more experience was available. Ranger's poor behaviour in heavy seas remains a limitation, yet it is judged the more useful operational carrier. That comparison distinguishes a pioneering experiment from the demands placed on subsequent carrier designs.