Treaty-free carrier size and growing aircraft

Shokaku, Implacable, and Essex all exceeded 30,000 tons at deep load once cumulative treaty limits no longer constrained carrier construction. Shokaku and Implacable were laid down in 1937-1939, while Essex followed in 1941 and was larger. Rapid aircraft growth, illustrated by the change from Wildcat to Hellcat, helps explain that progression. A hypothetical longer Implacable with extra boilers might have approached Essex's displacement while recovering some speed. The air-group comparison also requires care: Implacable's 81 flying aircraft were being compared with Shokaku's 72 operational aircraft plus twelve crated spares. That distinction undermines a simple claim that Britain accepted armor because it did not want a large air group. Treaty constraints had previously forced the Navy to divide capabilities it wanted in the same ship.