Specialist British yards could convert some merchant ships into escort carriers

Could modern civilian ships be converted into escort carriers despite limited British and American yard capacity?

Some British specialist yards, including Falmouth, could handle suitable conversions, although ship size, design work, and the vulnerability of niche industrial capacity would limit the programme.

Falmouth could handle substantial conversions and Royal Fleet Auxiliary maintenance, even if it could not accept the largest merchant ships. Similar small and medium British yards survive by specialising in particular kinds of work. That expertise makes selected carrier conversions plausible once a workable design exists. It also leaves the industrial base exposed, because a downturn in a narrow specialty can remove capabilities that are difficult to recreate quickly.