Carrier treaty limits forced a choice between individual capability and numbers

Malta and Midway are presented as designs shaped by wartime experience without the earlier treaty constraints. Under a cumulative tonnage limit, a navy had to decide what to remove from each carrier to obtain enough hulls. The example contrasts five 27,000-ton carriers with smaller ships of roughly 22,000 or 23,000 tons. The panel sees similar underlying ambitions in the British and American designs, with differences in protection and air-group size. British experience of Mediterranean convoy battles is offered as a reason for Malta's heavier protection and subdivision. That operational experience belongs alongside the Pacific carrier battles when interpreting the designs.