The treaty loophole behind small carriers

The Washington Naval Treaty cancelled projects such as Britain's G3 battlecruisers and N3 battleships and froze the American Lexington-class battlecruisers, but its definitions also opened a new aviation opportunity. The treaty made 10,000 tons the dividing line for carrier experiments. Ships above that displacement entered the aircraft-carrier or capital-ship system, while even a smaller vessel became a capital ship if it carried guns larger than eight inches. A carrier below the displacement threshold did not consume a signatory's cumulative carrier allowance, creating an apparent route to additional flight decks. Designers could gain aviation capacity outside the tonnage account if they could fit a useful air group, stability, endurance, and protection into the small hull.