9.2-inch Courageous-class cruisers reshape treaty fleets

What if Courageous-class ships were balanced 9.2-inch cruisers and other battlecruisers became carriers?

The treaty system would likely recognize a heavy-cruiser category, Britain might skip many 8-inch cruisers, and Admiral or Lion-class hulls would become carrier candidates.

Useful 9.2-inch Courageous-class cruisers would probably remain gunships, and the Renowns would remain battlecruisers. Their existence could produce a separate heavy-cruiser category in the Washington Naval Treaty, possibly with heavy-cruiser tonnage matching capital-ship tonnage while vessels below 10,000 tons remained unrestricted. Carrier conversions would instead draw on Admiral-class hulls or older Lion-class battlecruisers. Numerous British 9.2-inch cruisers would make Deutschland-class operations much less viable. Britain might then concentrate on 9.2-inch heavy cruisers and 6-inch light cruisers, leaving little reason to build an intermediate 8-inch type.