Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:13:14-3:14:21

A proper Glorious rebuild would trade availability for capability

A single full-length flight deck and deck-edge weapons could improve the conversions, but only through an expensive period out of service.

Aircraft CarriersCarrier ModernisationHMS CourageousHMS GloriousNaval Procurement
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Question

Would you rebuild Glorious and Courageous before the war to improve their endurance and usefulness?

Short answer

Yes, with a full single flight deck and better deck-edge arrangements, if the money and time lost from service could be accepted.

Notes

A thorough rebuild would remove the forward round-down, extend the flight deck over the bow, and reorganize the weapons in a style closer to later British carriers. Glorious and Courageous could become more useful carriers, but the work would consume money, dockyard time, and operational availability. Modernization remained a force-planning choice with a real cost.