Why battlecruisers made the best fleet-carrier conversions

Which capital-ship hulls were best suited for conversion to fleet carriers in the 1930s and 1940s?

Battlecruisers were preferable to battleships, particularly the fast and relatively long surviving British and Japanese designs.

Battlecruisers already possessed the speed and favorable length-to-beam ratios needed by fleet carriers, while presenting less armor to remove during conversion. The surviving 1930s candidates included the Kongos, Tiger, Renown, Repulse, and Hood. The former German battlecruiser in Turkish service was a much poorer prospect because long-term machinery support had produced a bespoke engineering plant. A carrier conversion therefore depended on maintainable machinery and transferable engineering skills as well as a fast, spacious hull.