Why carrier aircraft plans include large reserves

Why were early Cold War Royal Navy carrier-aircraft procurement numbers so high?

The numbers supported full carrier air groups plus reserve, training, and maintenance needs; aircraft are never available all at once.

The response frames apparently large procurement totals as the force needed to keep carriers properly equipped rather than as a fleet of permanently flyable aircraft. High-speed flying and high-g manoeuvre impose maintenance demands that routinely remove aircraft from the available pool. Training units, deep refits, and ordinary attrition all need aircraft beyond those visible in front-line air groups. The planned total therefore reflects the logistics of sustaining carrier aviation rather than an expectation that every airframe would be operational at once.