In the London Naval treaty in 1930, a loophole in the Washington naval treaty was closed was closed which meant that Aircraft Carriers of a tonnage no greater than 10000 tons would not be considered Aircraft carriers under the treaty, meaning they wouldn't count toward tonnage limits.
The Japanese were the only power to use this, as they built the Ryujo, a carrier with a displacement of 8,000 t. The ship had stability problems which required rebuilding to solve, raising the displacement to 10,600 tons. However considering the ship had a airgroup of 48 planes when it was built this can barely be considered suprising. This removed it from the bracket it was in, but no one cared.
So my question is this. Presuming the loophole isn't removed in the London Naval treaty, would other countries build similar light carriers? I could see the RN being interested in such vessels for trade protection against surface raiders (Something considered a real threat in the 1930's)
Here is examples of Ships around the same Displacement.
-Independence-class light carrier - 33 Aircraft, 31.5 Knots, 11,000 Tons
-Casablanca-class escort carrier - 28 Aircraft, 20 Knots, 7,800 Tons
-Zuihō-class Light Carrier -30 Aircraft, 28 Knots, 11,443 tonnes
- Colossus class Light Carrier - 31 Aircraft, 25 Knots, 13,200 tons