Hermes's 25-knot speed is sufficient to accompany cruisers at cruising speed because her aircraft provide the outward reach. Later ships could use the extra allowance up to 12,000 tons for improved machinery and arrangements. Building roughly one scout carrier every year to eighteen months would let each vessel incorporate experience from its predecessor. A programme starting in the early 1920s could complete its series in the mid-1930s and carry that experience into fleet-carrier construction.
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Successive scout carriers refine the Hermes design
A steady building programme could improve machinery, speed, and arrangements within the 12,000-ton limit.