A fleet carrier and an escort carrier could not embark the same air-group composition, so the 1946 reorganization created different designations for their different operational needs. According to the personal accounts discussed here, some senators effectively treated the difference in carrier size as evidence of communism. The episode shows how political oversight can distort force-structure decisions when it mistakes standardization for effectiveness. It also explains why naval nomenclature had to communicate capability to audiences far beyond the squadrons themselves.
Notable Point · 18:15-20:42
Why escort and fleet carriers needed different air groups
The 1946 air-group reorganization exposed how political misunderstanding could complicate the obvious operational differences between escort and fleet carriers.