A rough planning rule treats one ship as a prestige possession, two as intermittently available, three as usually providing one deployable hull, and four as assuring availability. A single carrier can lose its entire operational value during a refit. Maintenance therefore makes the number of ships central to whether a navy can use a capability when it needs it. Hood fits more usefully into this calculation alongside the two Renowns and Tiger as a four-ship battlecruiser force.
Notable Point · 3:53:09-3:59:37
Why fleet availability needs several hulls
One ship is vulnerable to refit cycles, while three or four hulls turn a design into a dependable operational capability.