Britain needed both crash carrier construction and Vanguard

The proposed carrier remedy is a crash light-fleet program based on the HMS Unicorn concept. The battleship shortage also requires Vanguard and rapid completion of the remaining King George V-class ships. Royal Oak's loss had been more manageable before the subsequent losses raised the total to five capital ships. Germany had lost Bismarck, but Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau still counted as potential threats even when their ability to operate was in doubt. The discussion also uses acknowledged hindsight about damage from Italian frogmen to illustrate the strain on British heavy strength. New carriers and capital ships therefore address different shortages, both of which take time to remedy.