What the armored carrier actually protected

'Armored hangar carrier' is the more precise description. Making the flight deck the strength deck allowed armor over and beside the hangar, but elevator weight required thinner protection around lift openings. Ark Royal also used her flight deck as a strength deck and carried thinner protection, while her strike-carrier role kept her farther from the battle fleet. The arrangement reflected a specific operational role rather than a universal measure of carrier quality.