Four Lexingtons leave room for six enlarged Yorktowns

Would later American carriers resemble Ranger or Yorktown under the revised allowance?

Rough equivalents are plausible. The later calculation allows six 23,000-ton Yorktown-like carriers after four Lexington conversions.

Later American carriers are expected to be rough equivalents of familiar designs, with their dimensions shaped by the larger allowance. Four 33,000-ton Lexington conversions use 132,000 tons out of 270,000, leaving 138,000 tons. That remainder permits five 27,000-ton ships with 3,000 tons unused, or six ships of 23,000 tons each. The six-ship option gives each Yorktown-like carrier about 3,000 additional tons. That margin could fund an armored deck below the flight deck, although an armored flight deck is considered unlikely.