The treaty rules distinguished vessels that launched aircraft from aircraft carriers capable of receiving them back aboard. A naval-service vessel could remain exempt if it stayed below specified armament and speed limits, carried no armor or torpedoes, and operated no more than three aircraft at sea. Extra aircraft could travel boxed and be assembled at the destination. This made a purpose-built mobile aviation-support ship a legally plausible program rather than a treaty-breaking carrier fleet.
Notable Point · 44:57-50:10
How the London Naval Treaty left room for tenders
Article 8 permitted lightly armed naval-service vessels with limited catapults and no ability to receive aircraft from the air, creating space for tender designs outside normal tonnage limits.