Aircraft carriers offer a clearer functional boundary than the long evolution of battleships. HMS Furious poses the central question: when did it cease to be a gun-armed ship carrying aircraft and become a vessel whose air group supplied its main striking power? A useful aircraft detachment alone does not define a carrier if another system remains the principal offensive weapon. This test separates design identity from incidental capability and allows very different carrier layouts to be compared on common terms.
Chapter · 2:41:19-2:45:44
Defining an aircraft carrier by its primary weapon
The carrier section defines the type by whether its air group is the ship's primary weapon system, using HMS Furious to mark the transition.