What 27,000 tons could give a treaty carrier

What would the US Navy have done differently if it had used a 27,000-ton treaty limit for the Yorktown class?

It could have combined a large Yorktown-style air group with an armored strength deck and substantially better protection, but cumulative treaty limits still rewarded smaller ships and greater numbers.

At 27,000 tons, a carrier no longer has to trade so sharply between air-group capacity, speed, and armor. A US design could pair a Yorktown-sized air group with an armored strength deck, while the British comparison points toward the later Implacable class. Cumulative treaty tonnage still discouraged both navies from building every carrier at the maximum individual displacement.