The first carrier generation was experimental, not treaty-built

Furious, Eagle, Argus, Hermes, Hōshō, and Langley form the first generation examined here. They belong to an era of conversions and purpose-built experiments conducted while navies were still deciding what a carrier should be. Lexington, Courageous, and Glorious belong to the later treaty-carrier story even though some began as other ship types. The distinction keeps attention on the design tests, institutional choices, and operating assumptions that created the carrier before naval treaties offered large hulls for conversion. The Japanese Navy also funded a proposed sister for Hōshō without building her, evidence that early carrier programs could be larger on paper than in service.