Once the sub-10,000-ton design works, Britain, America, and Japan would all have incentives to build it in numbers. Larger fleet carriers become the strike centres, while smaller carriers supply reconnaissance, fighter control, and additional decks around them. One British option is six carriers of about 22,000 tons, with pairs assigned to the Home Fleet, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean. Four or five small carriers around each pair would allow combinations of one large and one or more small decks for particular operations. The Royal Navy's global commitments would therefore shape both carrier size and group composition. The treaty exemption could also draw France, Italy, the Soviet Union, and South American navies with sufficient funds into a wider carrier race. Multi-carrier tactics could develop earlier as these navies experimented with complementary flight decks.
Notable Point · 5:13-7:45
Small carriers push navies toward multi-carrier groups
A working light-carrier category could multiply flight decks, make major carriers more important, and encourage Britain, America, Japan, and other powers toward multi-carrier tactics.