Henderson's preferred carrier development included a larger design with armour, extensive subdivision, and anti-torpedo protection. Ark Royal came close to being built as a 27,000-ton carrier along those lines. The Illustrious designs came closer to that ambition, with some changes incorporated in Formidable. Implacable is connected to the same design ancestry. Interest in those larger alternatives explains the qualifications attached to the carrier choices in this discussion.
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Henderson's larger British carrier design alternatives
A 27,000-ton carrier alternative connects the development of Ark Royal, Illustrious, and the later Implacable design.