Argus tests the full-length flight deck

British interest in a continuous flight deck can be traced to prewar discussions and a 1912 Beardmore proposal, but an available Italian liner hull made a working carrier possible. The Royal Navy bought the partly completed Conte Rosso because her machinery was further advanced and also considered acquiring her sister Giulio Cesare. Designers tested a bridge spanning the deck, a starboard island, and a flush deck at the National Physical Laboratory, rejecting the bridge arrangement because it produced dangerous airflow. The flush deck gave the cleanest airflow, while an island offered better exhaust handling, ship control, and visual references for pilots. Argus went forward with a flush deck after the turbulence trials on Furious, although her liner hull left stability and high-center-of-gravity problems. Decommissioned in 1929, recommissioned in July 1938, converted to an accommodation ship in 1944, and scrapped in 1946, she remained useful long after the first experiments.