Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:35:08-2:35:30

Fleet-carrier continuity favors Audacious and Malta designs

If the Royal Navy relies less heavily on emergency light fleets, more design and yard effort can flow into the larger Audacious and Malta carrier programs.

Aircraft CarriersAudacious Class Aircraft CarriersLight Fleet CarriersMalta Class Aircraft CarriersNaval Procurement
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Question

Would the Royal Navy still build the Audacious class, or move directly to the Malta class?

Short answer

Audacious probably remains the intermediate design, while less reliance on light fleets could bring the Malta class into production sooner.

Notes

The Audacious class remains the likely intermediate step rather than being skipped. The larger question is how much wartime effort still goes into light fleet carriers when the main fleet carriers were never interrupted. Reduced emphasis on light fleets creates more room for full-size Audacious and Malta designs to advance. By the end of the war, Malta-class ships could therefore be farther into production than in the historical program.