Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Notable Point · 21:51-23:46

Treaty limits make carrier designs diverge

Yorktown and Illustrious sacrifice different features under treaty limits, while the later Midway and Malta concepts move toward a similar larger answer.

Fleet CarriersIllustrious Class Aircraft CarriersImplacable Class Aircraft CarriersMalta Class Aircraft CarriersMidway Class Aircraft CarriersNaval TreatiesShip DesignYorktown Class Aircraft Carriers
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Notes

Treaty displacement limits expose what each navy chose to sacrifice. American designers gave scarce tonnage to air-group size, while British designers prioritized armor and subdivision. Many treaty-carrier studies started with an ideal design of 27,000 long tons and then removed capabilities to meet the limit. In this comparison, another 4,000 tons would give Illustrious its larger air group, while another 7,200 tons would give Yorktown more armor, subdivision, and stronger construction. The Yorktowns were already tough ships, so the extra protection is posed as a counterfactual improvement. Implacable is also tentatively linked to a 27,000-ton starting design. After the treaty system, Midway and Malta approached similar combinations of larger air groups and stronger protection.