Glitterboy, I hate to say it but, "it depends". The "small carriers" that currently exist don't usually maintain a CAP at all because the kind of aircraft they carry aren't generally fighters. The whole concept of CAP is based on the threat you're facing. If you're not facing an air threat, you won't have a CAP at all. If you are, you'll put up as strong of a Defensive Counter-Air (DCA) presence as needed to protect the carrier from it. That kind of capability is sufficiently expensive to only exist if it's absolutely required. If your universe has escorts with sufficiently strong anti-aircraft batteries, you may not need CAP at all.