Treaty arithmetic made small carriers inefficient

Did Vindictive's conversion show that purpose-built light carriers were the right British path?

Britain already preferred purpose-built carriers, but treaty tonnage made small Hermes-sized ships inefficient compared with larger carriers.

HMS Vindictive was closer to a seaplane tender than a full carrier conversion, so her limitations did not create the basic case for purpose-built ships. The Royal Navy already wanted more ships like HMS Hermes. Once all carriers counted against one cumulative treaty allowance, however, a small carrier used scarce tonnage without delivering the aircraft capacity of a larger vessel. Purpose-built ships were desirable, while the treaty arithmetic made small purpose-built carriers hard to justify.