What if HMS Argus were returned to Italy because she began as an Italian liner?
Short answerA post-conversion transfer around 1930 would aid Italian carrier development and leave Britain needing a replacement training and drone-support ship.
NotesThe proposed 1910 date cannot fit Argus's chronology: the liner was laid down in 1914, acquired in 1916, launched in 1917, and commissioned in 1918. A transfer around 1930 is substituted as a workable version of the scenario. Italy would gain a small carrier, while Britain would lose the vessel used for target-aircraft work. Another auxiliary aviation ship, possibly an additional Unicorn, would then be needed for that role.