Q&A ยท 3:16:51-3:17:46

Would larger carriers secure better aircraft?

Carrier design and aircraft procurement followed different institutional paths, limiting what a larger-hull counterfactual can change.

Question

Would building larger British carriers also lead to better aircraft for them?

Short answer

Larger hulls alone would leave the procurement constraint intact. Changing the aircraft would require an earlier change in Air Ministry control.

Notes

The suggestion that larger carriers would bring better aircraft is rejected because the Royal Navy could influence carrier design without controlling the whole aircraft-procurement system. Air Ministry authority remained a constraint before the Inskip decision of 1937 and its implementation in 1939. Securing different aircraft would require an earlier institutional change as well as a larger ship. The proposed Sea Spitfire example is rejected on the same grounds.