The 1917 flying-off deck and its mixed air group

The 1917 configuration put a flying-off deck and hangar ahead of the superstructure while leaving a single 18-inch gun aft. Furious could launch fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, and spotting aircraft, although the theoretical air group and the aircraft actually embarked were not the same. The retained heavy gun made the ship resemble an exceptionally expensive monitor rather than a coherent hybrid combatant. At the same time, the forward deck gave the Royal Navy a working platform on which to learn what fleet aviation required. The awkward combination shows how quickly the demand for a carrier was overtaking the original battlecruiser design.