Successful small carriers could lead to a separate light-carrier category in the London Naval Treaty, with rules resembling the division between heavy and light cruisers. Under one proposed scheme, Britain and America would each receive 135,000 tons for light carriers as well as their fleet-carrier allowance. That permits nine 15,000-ton light carriers, while reducing each ship to 13,500 or 12,000 tons permits ten or eleven. These are alternative treaty arrangements within the counterfactual. The same tradeoff applies to large carriers: five ships of 27,000 tons compete with six of about 22,500 tons. The extra hull would be particularly attractive to the Royal Navy because its imperial commitments required carriers in several distant theatres. American and Japanese requirements could place greater weight on the efficiency of each large strike carrier.
Notable Point · 8:54-12:23
Light-carrier treaty arithmetic and fleet tradeoffs
A hypothetical light-carrier treaty category turns displacement into a choice between more decks and greater capability per ship, with Britain's global commitments favouring wider distribution.