Japan faced the sharpest pressure from the treaty ratios and made the most determined effort to exploit the small-carrier opening. Ryūjō pursued the direct solution: a carrier with five-inch dual-purpose guns, an official speed of 29 knots, a range of 10,000 nautical miles at 14 knots, and a nominal capacity of 48 aircraft. Concentrating hangars and flight facilities high in a light hull produced severe topweight and stability problems. Building and reconstruction between 1931 and 1936 added roughly 2,600 tons even as armament was reduced, because the ship needed weight and structural changes to operate aircraft safely. A genuinely sub-10,000-ton carrier may have needed an air group closer to 16 aircraft than the design's advertised 48.
Chapter · 36:37-39:09
Ryūjō's treaty-driven design and stability problems
Japan built Ryūjō as a fast, long-ranged light carrier, but the effort to fit 48 aircraft into a treaty-light hull produced serious stability problems.