London Treaty rules squeeze useful small carriers

Britain's global commitments made small carriers attractive for convoy protection, trade nodes, and cruiser-carrier missions. Hermes and Argus had nevertheless shown that propulsion and other fixed requirements consumed a larger share of a small hull, leaving proportionally less space for aviation. More small carriers could cover several places at once, and losing one would remove a smaller share of the fleet's total aviation strength. Larger carriers offered greater aviation efficiency, so cumulative tonnage limits forced a choice between numbers and capability per hull. Lexington and Saratoga consumed so much of the US allowance that Ranger and Wasp became attempts to recover useful carrier numbers at lower displacement.