How a scout-carrier category could reshape treaty fleets

What would scout carriers look like if the Washington treaty recognized them as a separate category?

They would likely be capped near 13,500 to 14,000 tons, giving navies more small carriers and allowing their fleet carriers to approach the full treaty limit.

A scout-carrier category could sit around half the 27,000-ton fleet-carrier limit and pair that displacement ceiling with a limit on hull numbers. Britain could use Hermes-like ships for global presence while allowing its main carriers to approach the full treaty displacement. The United States would gain a similar high-low mix. Japan's historically strained Ryujo could receive several thousand additional tons, producing a much more workable light carrier. The separate category gives fleets more flight decks without forcing every carrier to meet the same role.