Q&A · 1:10:25-1:13:28

Admiral-class carriers without Beatty

Cancelled Admiral-class hulls might have become larger Royal Navy carriers with island structures and dual-purpose guns.

Question

Could Admiral-class carriers have emerged without Beatty's decisions?

Short answer

The ships were early enough to redesign, and other admirals wanted larger carriers. Beatty's political skill did not produce the carrier-size choices he might otherwise have secured.

Notes

Admiral-class carrier conversions were plausible because the ships were not too far advanced. The Royal Navy had also learned from island-structure carrier designs. They might have carried dual-purpose 4.7-inch guns and accelerated armored-carrier thinking. Beatty's political ability as First Sea Lord is treated separately from his strategic choices on carrier size and capital-ship procurement.