Q&A ยท 1:38:57-1:41:10

Why Admiral-class carrier conversions could avoid Lexington's problems

British conversion experience and the Admirals' incomplete hulls would make them easier to reshape as carriers than more advanced battlecruisers.

Question

Would Britain face the same conversion problems with the Admiral class that America faced with the Lexington class?

Short answer

Probably fewer, because Britain had more conversion experience and the unfinished Admiral hulls left much more freedom above the lower strength deck.

Notes

Argus, Furious, Eagle, Hermes, Courageous and Glorious gave the Royal Navy an experience advantage. Those ships taught designers what not to repeat in later conversions. The unfinished Admirals were essentially watertight lower hulls without engines, turrets or a completed upper structure. Designers could therefore redirect exhausts, build a proper island and flight deck, and trade unused armor and gun weight for aviation features before the hull was too fixed to change.