Aircraft carriers as civil-military compromises

The closing exercise asks viewers to compare what navies would build alone with what politicians would fund alone, especially after the Second World War. Professional officers define operational requirements, while elected governments and treasuries control the money and accept or reject strategic commitments. Defence secretaries, senior admirals, and advisers mediate between these worlds rather than belonging wholly to only one side. Even American supercarriers are therefore presented as compromises rather than unconstrained naval designs. The Invincible-class armament dispute shows that influence could also flow back toward the Navy when senior admirals threatened to resign over an unarmed flagship. Studying the compromise reveals why a carrier's final form may differ sharply from either institution's first preference.