Carrier-loss comparisons depend on consistent categories. Courageous, Glorious, Ark Royal, and the older Eagle can be treated as fleet carriers in their operational contexts, but Hermes represented a smaller cruiser-carrier idea and anticipated aspects of the escort-carrier role. Counting ships by operational concept rather than the generic carrier label makes British and American loss totals more comparable. Moving Hermes into Britain's fleet-carrier total while classifying comparable American ships differently distorts the comparison.
Notable Point · 19:30-20:58
Why HMS Hermes should not be counted as a fleet carrier
HMS Hermes is better understood as a cruiser-carrier or proto-escort-carrier concept than as a fleet carrier when comparing wartime losses.