How British conversions shaped carrier treaty limits

Would Admiral-class carrier conversions have faced the same Washington Treaty tonnage problem as Lexington and Saratoga?

Probably not in the same form, because Britain would likely have negotiated a larger carrier allowance around the Admiral-class hulls it wanted to convert.

Washington carrier tonnage figures were strongly influenced by what Britain needed to convert Courageous and Glorious. Those limits consequently fitted Lexington and Saratoga poorly. Had Britain needed to convert larger Admiral-class hulls instead, it would have pressed for a higher allowance. Arms-control numbers can encode the procurement plans of the states negotiating them.