A delayed war would have transformed carrier forces on every side

How would the war have differed if every navy had reached its planned level of readiness?

A war delayed to about 1943 could have featured mature British carrier aircraft and armored carriers, Axis carriers, better radar control, and a far more carrier-intensive European naval war.

The latest plausible point for German rearmament to continue without war is placed at roughly 1943. By then, the Royal Navy could have fielded a single-seat fighter, the Barracuda or a similar strike aircraft, five armored carriers, Unicorn, and Ark Royal. Radar-directed air control would have matured, while Italian and German carriers might also have entered service. The result could include carrier battles in the North Sea or North Atlantic and a battle fleet very different from that of 1939. This is explicitly a rough counterfactual, but it shows how a few extra development years could reorder naval aviation.