A carrier badly damaged in Far Eastern operations would have to return to Britain for major repairs. Armour therefore addressed the risk of losing carrier support during a long voyage and refit, as well as surviving the immediate attack. The RAF's proposed reinforcement method was to unload the Fleet Air Arm, ferry RAF aircraft east and then send the carriers back for their naval aircraft. Those repeated transits left the Royal Navy without its normal carrier air groups while reinforcement was under way. Japanese operations would continue while the carriers shuttled between Britain and the Far East.
Notable Point · 40:33-41:36
Carrier armour and the Far East reinforcement problem
Far East deployment made repair distance a carrier-design problem, while the RAF reinforcement plan required the same ships to ferry aircraft east.