Although a nuclear supercarrier is many times heavier than an Invincible-class ship, the smaller carrier must still contain engines and the accommodation, kitchens, food storage, and service systems needed to sustain its crew. These fixed demands leave a smaller proportion of the hull for aircraft as carrier size falls. A rough operational assessment places a workable large air group at about sixty to ninety aircraft, with human coordination and crowded operations limiting the gains beyond that range. The estimate concerns the practical management of an air wing rather than a universal engineering limit. Placing Illustrious beside a US supercarrier also shows that a smaller carrier can embody a serious national commitment even when it cannot match the larger ship's air wing.
Notable Point · 1:05:36-1:09:31
Why larger carriers devote more of the ship to aviation
A comparison between Illustrious and a US supercarrier shows how propulsion and crew-support spaces consume a greater proportion of a small carrier's hull.