What deck-edge lifts could teach a County-hull carrier fleet

How many aircraft could a County-class scout carrier operate with deck-edge lifts?

Perhaps about thirty instead of twenty-four, though larger later aircraft might consume the space and leave the practical complement unchanged.

Fleet doubts whether deck-edge lifts would suit such a small carrier built during the 1920s. Alex proposes a hypothetical construction program beginning around 1923 or 1924 and producing about six ships by 1930. A lift could be tested on the third ship while the fourth retained the conventional arrangement, allowing experience to inform the fifth and sixth. A successful trial could then influence later carriers. Replacing centerline lifts might raise the nominal air group from about 24 to 30 aircraft by freeing usable space, although growing aircraft size could absorb that gain. The sequence would let the navy compare arrangements across successive ships while developing experience with the new lift.