Treaty tonnage and global fleet numbers

The progression from Illustrious toward Audacious refined an established carrier doctrine as treaty restrictions fell away. Only a few thousand additional tons per ship might have delivered most of the Audacious ideal, but political negotiating priorities did not match the Navy's preferred limits. Britain could also have accepted fewer carriers in exchange for larger individual designs. The service instead emphasized the number of hulls needed for a global war. Its willingness to exchange heavy-cruiser tonnage for more light cruisers followed the same logic. Individual fighting power was sacrificed when necessary to maintain useful ships across many distant stations.