At the 27,000-ton unit limit, the 135,000-ton national allowance produced only five full-size carriers for Britain or the United States. Britain in particular needed a force divisible among several operational regions and maintenance cycles, making five a brittle number for a global navy. An allowance near 216,000 tons could support eight treaty-size carriers and distribute availability more realistically. The special 33,000-ton conversion rule and eight-inch-gun allowance partly softened the constraint by making Lexington and Saratoga possible, but did not solve the fleet-wide shortage.
Chapter · 35:53-39:15
Carrier ceilings produced fleets too small for reliable availability
A 135,000-ton national allowance and 27,000-ton unit limit yielded only about five full-size carriers, a brittle number for a global fleet.