IJN Ryūjō - Japan's ‘Illegal’ Aircraft Carrier

Being forever known as 'that time Japan tried to loophole a treaty' is probably a distinction for Ryujo. A light carrier, that was intended to take advantage of poor wording in the Washington Naval Treaty. Namely that any ship under 10,000 tons- no matter the actual design -didn't qualify as an aircraft carrier. Or, at least, didn't count towards the treaty mandated displacement limitation. Thus, Ryujo. A ship that suffered stability issues and other problems due to compromises in her design and construction. Yet, a ship that actually proved quite successful in actual service. An interesting set of contradictions, really. Further Reading: https://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Japanese-Pacific-General-Military/dp/1472801466/ https://www.amazon.com/Warships-Imperial-Japanese-Navy-1869-1945/dp/087021893X/ https://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Japanese-Aircraft-Carriers-1921-45/dp/1841768537/ http://www.combinedfleet.com/ryujo.htm