Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:34:48-3:35:14

Why a practical fleet carrier needed more than 10,000 tons

British studies indicated that a genuinely useful fleet carrier required about 11,000 to 12,000 tons, making the treaty incentive for sub-10,000-ton carriers unattractive.

Aircraft CarriersHMS HermesNaval TreatiesWarship Design
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Question

Why did the Royal Navy not pursue carriers below 10,000 tons for treaty advantages?

Short answer

Because a useful fleet carrier needed roughly 11,000 to 12,000 tons; smaller designs did not work well enough.

Notes

Treaty language could make very small carriers appear efficient because ships below a threshold received favorable accounting. Royal Navy design work found that the resulting hulls could not combine useful aviation facilities with fleet duties. Hermes showed the practical floor was closer to 11,000 or 12,000 tons. Britain therefore had little reason to fight for a nominally advantageous category that produced ships too constrained for the job.