At more than 83,000 tons fully loaded and over a thousand feet long, CVA-58 would have been a very large ship even before considering its air group. Each of its four propeller screws was quoted at 20.5 feet in diameter. The projected air group combined about 54 fighters with up to 18 heavy bombers, probably 12 in normal use, giving a total of 66 to 72 aircraft. Those fighters were intended to escort the bombers through enemy defences, since CVA-58 could not independently provide its own air defence. The Navy's assumption was that escorts could help enough bombers fight through to deliver their payloads. The air group fits the ship's role as a specialised strike component within a wider carrier force.
Notable Point · 20:00-21:52
CVA-58's scale and strike-escort air group
The planned 83,000-ton carrier was enormous, yet its fighters were intended mainly to escort bombers rather than provide independent fleet air defence.