Q&A ยท 1:04:50-1:05:43

Could the unfinished Admirals have become carriers?

Fixation on delivering battlecruisers is the suggested explanation; carrier conversion after Jutland offers a counterfactual alternative.

Question

Why did Britain continue treating the unfinished Admirals as modified versions of Hood?

Short answer

Fixation on delivering battlecruisers is the suggested explanation; carrier conversion after Jutland offers a counterfactual alternative.

Notes

The Admiralty remained focused on completing battlecruisers after Jutland's information arrived. Target fixation is the suggested explanation for that commitment. Converting the three unfinished ships, or all four Admirals, into aircraft carriers would have met another naval requirement. New capital-ship designs could then have replaced the abandoned battlecruiser programme. The counterfactual predicts that changing course at that point would probably have brought the converted ships into service.