Could a 10,000-ton Ranger be useful?

Would designing Ranger at the full 10,000 tons rather than about 8,000 tons have produced a useful carrier?

Yes, provided the navy accepted a smaller air group; HMS Hermes shows that a roughly 11,000-ton carrier could still be a flexible asset.

HMS Hermes offers a useful comparison: at about 11,000 tons she carried roughly twenty aircraft while retaining guns and useful speed. That is a flexible aviation asset even though it is not a full fleet carrier. The design problem becomes impossible only when a small hull is expected to operate a roughly 48-aircraft fleet air group. A 10,000-ton Ranger could therefore be useful if the navy accepted a deliberately smaller air group and role.