The hard limits of a 10,000-ton carrier

Can a useful aircraft carrier be designed below 10,000 tons?

Yes, but only as a deliberately limited light carrier; forcing full fleet-carrier capability into that displacement creates severe compromises.

Hermes and later light fleet carriers show that a viable carrier can exist near this displacement. Ryujo's trouble came from trying to obtain full fleet-carrier capability from a hull too small to carry it safely and coherently. Designers had to accept a smaller air group and the limitations of a small carrier instead of trying to obtain full fleet-carrier capability. If Britain and Japan had built several such ships, the London treaty system might have created a separate light-carrier category around 10,000 to 12,000 tons. That classification could in turn have affected American procurement. The historical argument offered here is that support ships faced difficulties obtaining congressional funding compared with more prominent capital ships.