Wasp shows the limit of building down a capital ship

Wasp tried to deliver fleet-carrier aviation from roughly 14,900 tons after the United States converted Langley and released her treaty allowance. That choice produced another flight deck instead of retaining a training carrier or strengthening the Yorktown pair. Three submarine torpedo hits would challenge any carrier, so her loss does not reduce to one design flaw. The collapse of power and water mains, uncontrollable fires, and the US Navy's earlier decision to keep her in the less dangerous Atlantic nevertheless show how little structural and protective margin the design provided.