Postwar navies diverge from a shared carrier starting point

The episode asks what post-World War I navies wanted from naval aviation before aircraft carriers became mature systems. Hermes, Hosho, and Langley all draw on wartime experience, but each navy adapts the idea to its own strategic geography and institutional needs. Hermes is the clearest early divergence because the Royal Navy continues building her after deciding that her air group is too small for a first-line strike carrier. The Washington Naval Treaty adds another layer of compromise by treating different navies as if they could accept the same limits without the same missions.