Goodall's battleship setback and carrier demand for Japan

Why did Goodall record a setback for battleship advocates in February 1944, and did Churchill and Cunningham influence it?

Churchill and Cunningham's influence was accompanied by pressure to provide enough carriers for Pacific operations and a possible invasion of Japan.

Churchill and Cunningham's influence accompanied growing demand for carriers in the Pacific. An invasion of Japan would require continuing air support if atomic bombs were unavailable or failed to end the war. American assessments of carrier endurance off Japan are recalled as beginning in late 1943. The operational problem was whether carriers could remain effective under attack until airfields ashore became usable. The recalled gap falls from about two days to roughly 36 hours and eventually about a day. British armoured carriers carried fewer aircraft but were considered less vulnerable to being put out of action. One recalled proposal delayed their entry into action to preserve their availability for that gap. Escort carriers would ferry aircraft within range of the new airfields.