The comparison treats Bearn, Joffre, and Graf Zeppelin as deeply flawed, and finds problems in Ranger and the Courageous-class conversions as well. Their builders still deserve credit for developing unfamiliar carrier technologies and testing new solutions. Those ideas mattered even when the resulting arrangements complicated aircraft handling and ship management. Practical carrier service revealed which engineering ideas imposed too much complexity on crews.
Notable Point · 22:16-23:13
What flawed first-generation carriers still taught navies
Bearn, Joffre, Graf Zeppelin, Ranger, and the Courageous-class conversions paired serious innovation with layouts that made carrier operations unnecessarily difficult.