Hōshō, Langley, and Hermes embody three national strategies

The three ships are unusually clear products of national strategy before treaty rules further distorted their development. Hōshō gives Japan an edge that may offset limits in heavy industry. Langley gives the United States practical knowledge about how carriers and their air groups can be employed. Hermes gives Britain presence and security across trade routes that cannot all be covered by the battle fleet. Her completion is tied to peacetime deterrence and avoiding a repetition of World War I disruption by surface raiders and submarines rather than matching a later fleet carrier's strike capacity.