The closing argument connects cruiser definitions, carrier tonnage, and the Royal Navy's missed chance to build more Hermes-like aviation presence ships. If the treaty threshold had been higher, Hermes, Langley, and Hosho might not have counted as carrier tonnage at all. Britain could then have paired one small aviation ship with every five or six cruisers, creating a distinct light-carrier structure for distant stations. The treaty system instead forces the Royal Navy to choose between fleet carriers and the dispersed presence missions Hermes was designed to cover.
Chapter · 1:14:27-1:18:18
Treaty tonnage limits close off a Hermes-style fleet
A treaty counterfactual asks how carrier development changes if small carriers do not count against cumulative carrier tonnage.