Originally posted by junior
Going with multiple smaller carriers when one large carrier will do the job has its plusses, but they're outweighed by the negatives. The biggest is the simple fact that if you do your job correctly, the carriers will never come under fire. Second is that multiple small carriers are more expensive than a single big carrier. Third is the fact that coordination between multiple ships is a chore during the best of times, and a serious hazard at the worst. Using a single large carrier simplifies all of those so that you can concentrate on winning the war instead of juggling carriers.
Light carriers have their uses, but the centerpoint of a battle group is generally not a good use for them.
I believe that in the WC4 novel, Blair states to Tolwyn that several "jeep" carriers could be constructed for the same money and or resource cost as a single Vesuvius class carrier. Actually, and I'm not entirely sure, but I believe someone has even made this same comment earlier in this thread already.