Carrier pairs for distant cruiser stations

Home waters and the Mediterranean already have fleet carriers, while the China, East Indies, Australasian, South Atlantic, African, and West Indies stations need mobile aviation of their own. A four-cruiser formation might receive one cruiser-carrier, while a six-cruiser formation could justify a pair. Construction beginning in 1922 would take about two years, making three or four Royal Navy sisters plus Australian and New Zealand ships more plausible than completing ten in the first programme. With Hermes herself, that produces roughly seven available hulls. The carriers add scouting and visible presence on distant stations while leaving fleet carriers concentrated with the principal fleets.