Carrier evolution without the wartime building surge

Royal Navy armored carriers could gain deck-edge lifts and better maintenance arrangements, while the US Navy advances beyond Yorktown-derived concepts without producing the historical Essex swarm. Implacable is the British baseline, and Midway is treated as an armored continuation of Yorktown rather than simply an enlarged Essex. Graf Zeppelin might also enter German service, but exercises could expose how much refinement its inventive arrangements still require. Light fleet carriers offer a quicker expansion path, first filling Royal Navy shortages and later equipping Dominion fleets for regional cruiser support. Jet aircraft and angled decks can still appear because the relevant research already exists, although mixed propeller-and-jet air groups would persist during the transition. Peacetime iteration can therefore produce capable carriers without the enormous wartime construction surge.