Midway arose from American carrier priorities rather than a direct copy of the Illustrious class. The class balanced flight-deck numbers, air-group size, speed, survivability, and the operating space available in the Atlantic and Pacific. The small production run reflected the war's end and shrinking budgets, not inferiority to Essex. Treaty tonnage limits had forced navies to trade among those qualities. Essex refined the Yorktown pattern for fast wartime construction and mass production. Once those constraints eased, the US Navy could pursue a larger, more survivable carrier without giving up speed or aviation capacity.
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Midway followed an American carrier philosophy
Midway combined US operating assumptions with treaty-era design experience. Its design was distinct from British armoured carriers and the mass-produced Essex program.