Armor placement and the Pacific strike role

Enterprise carried a belt between two and a half and four inches thick, along with protective decks, bulkheads, conning-tower armor, and protection over the steering gear. The Yorktowns were protected carriers, with the main difference lying in the location and proportion of armor. Weight placed high in a ship required compensation lower down and reduced the volume available for aircraft. The US Navy accepted that balance to support a large strike group across the Pacific. The figure of 80 to 90 aircraft means airframes carried aboard, including spares hung in the hangar rafters or kept boxed, rather than an operational air group of that size. British requirements also covered the Mediterranean, Atlantic, North Sea, Arctic, Indian Ocean, and routes through the South China Sea. Geography, stability, aircraft capacity, and doctrine produced different protection choices in the two navies.