The Royal Navy initially intended to build four carriers of about 64,000 tons at full load. That made CVA-01 somewhat larger than the unbuilt Malta class and broadly comparable in displacement to the modern Queen Elizabeth class. It remained clearly smaller than the roughly 80,000-ton Kitty Hawk class then being built for the United States Navy. The comparison establishes the design as a substantial fleet carrier deliberately kept below American supercarrier scale.
Notable Point · 7:42-8:48
A 64,000-ton carrier below American supercarrier scale
CVA-01’s planned full-load displacement put it near the modern Queen Elizabeth class but well below the contemporary Kitty Hawk class.