Courageous and Glorious were two of Britain's seven prewar carriers and two of its larger strike carriers. Ark Royal was the third of these large strike carriers, while Implacable and Indefatigable were intended to replace the older pair. Their early loss reduced the force available before those replacements could arrive. The use of Courageous for anti-submarine operations receives particular criticism despite support for the role in contemporary doctrine. Exercises can appear to confirm a practice because of the assumptions built into their design. Their results therefore need scrutiny before they justify exposing a major fleet unit to that task.
Notable Point · 4:32:27-4:33:40
Carrier losses and the danger of misleading exercises
The loss of Courageous and Glorious weakened Britain's strike-carrier force, while Courageous raises a warning about doctrine built on misleading exercises.