Article 10 barred carrier guns larger than 8 inches. If a carrier carried guns above 6 inches, it normally faced a ten-gun limit excluding anti-aircraft weapons and guns of 5 inches or less; the special large carriers under Article 9 faced an eight-gun limit. With no guns above 6 inches, Article 10 left gun numbers unrestricted. These rules permitted a substantial surface battery, but the discussion questions whether Lexington and Saratoga needed their 8-inch guns aboard the carriers. Washington imposed no cumulative cruiser limit, so an additional cruiser could have accompanied each carrier and provided that gun support. The later London limits changed that calculation.
Notable Point · 12:18-14:19
Carrier gun limits and the alternative of a cruiser escort
Washington allowed heavy carrier guns, but its uncapped cruiser tonnage also offered a way to put surface-gun support in a separate escort.