If Japan and Italy had left the treaty system at the 1930 London conference, carrier construction in the mid-1930s might have faced fewer restrictions. The likely British design in this counterfactual resembles an Implacable with Ark Royal-sized hangars. It combines protection for operations near enemy airfields with a substantial strike group and a second hangar for maintenance. That arrangement could remove the need for a separate Unicorn-type support ship. Because the major carrier navies wanted many of the same capabilities, greater design freedom might have brought their ships closer together.
Notable Point · 1:28:09-1:30:12
An early treaty collapse could permit a larger British carrier
An imagined treaty collapse in 1930 permits a British carrier with Implacable's protection, Ark Royal-sized hangars, and extensive maintenance facilities.