The comparison of peacetime and wartime build times shows how even a three-month pause mattered when ships were already taking three to five years to complete. The estimate puts King George V and Prince of Wales into service in July 1940, with Duke of York following in February 1941, creating room for Hood to receive her long-delayed refit. Illustrious, Formidable, and Victorious could likewise arrive during the first half of 1940, addressing the carrier shortage Henderson had spent years trying to correct. These are cautious estimates based on removing pauses and late design changes, not guaranteed commissioning dates.
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Avoiding short pauses transforms the fleet available in 1940
Removing construction pauses and late design changes advances battleships and carriers enough to alter refits, deployments, and fleet strength by mid-1940.