Yorktown-class growth margins and treaty tonnage

Did the Yorktown class conceal extra displacement and equipment margins behind its official treaty figures?

Probably to some degree: treaty powers commonly understated or manipulated figures, and the Yorktown design shows signs of planned growth, though the exact completed displacement remains uncertain.

Photographs showing only modest draft changes, reserve propulsion capacity, and fittings prepared for later equipment all point toward built-in growth margin. These clues suggest that the Yorktown class may have been heavier or more growth-ready than declared. Treaty navies commonly manipulated reported tonnage, and Japanese figures can seem more candid because the deception is readily acknowledged. The exact completed displacement remains unresolved, but the Yorktowns were strong designs with substantial development margin. Treaty displacement figures therefore cannot always be read as straightforward measures of a ship's real wartime condition.