Britain's often-cited ten-year carrier gap concerned fixed-wing strike capability. HMS Illustrious remained in commission until 2014 and HMS Ocean until 2018, maintaining ships and personnel whose principal work was supporting aviation at sea. In Libya, Apaches aboard Ocean and strike aircraft flying from Britain supplied parts of the missing capability at considerable expense. Delaying Queen Elizabeth-class construction and F-35 purchases also increased costs; the estimate here is that Britain spent enough on its two carriers to have built more than three without those delays. Inviting US Marine Corps aircraft aboard a British carrier provided another way to fill the strike gap. Repeated efforts to reproduce that capability weaken the argument that operating without it proved it unnecessary.
Chapter · 41:09-47:16
Carrier operations during Britain's strike gap
Illustrious and Ocean preserved aviation operations while Britain used helicopters, long-range land-based aircraft, and later US Marine Corps aircraft to fill its strike gap.