A design comparison becomes misleading when it treats every difference as a defect. G3 carried more armour and firepower for a fleet battle, while Lexington was intended to cover immense ocean distances, protect trade, and hunt Japanese cruisers. Six G3-like ships could perform the latter mission, but the United States did not need to pay for that much concentrated capability in every hull. Design quality has to be judged against the navy's mission and required fleet numbers.
Notable Point · 2:45:38-2:48:11
Lexington and G3 were built around different missions
Lexington's cruiser-hunting and trade-protection mission required wide coverage, while G3 concentrated more armour and firepower.