Q&A · 2:43:42-2:44:22

How Britain might build a Yorktown-sized carrier series

British large carriers built years apart would likely appear as closely related individual ships, each incorporating improvements from the last.

Question

Would British Yorktown-sized carriers be one class with running improvements or a succession of designs?

Short answer

Probably closely related individual ships if spaced over several years, with older carriers later updated toward the newest standard.

Notes

A rapid program could preserve a recognizable class design, but slower treaty-limited construction encourages ship-by-ship evolution. Each hull would incorporate lessons and equipment changes accumulated since the previous order. Earlier vessels might later be modernized toward the standard of the newest ship. The result is a recognizable family of Yorktown-sized carriers without identical details across the series.