Armored carriers answered British repair and shipyard limits

British armored carrier designs were constrained by too little tonnage, although Indefatigable and Implacable showed what the concept could achieve with somewhat more room. The armored flight deck and hangar box made sense for a navy worried about repairing or replacing damaged ships. Depression, treaty limits, the Ten Year Rule, and industrial consolidation had reduced the yard capacity that earlier naval expansion had created. Survivability was consequently an industrial strategy as well as a tactical design choice.