How the 1939 carrier pause reached Force Z

The estimated gain in escort delivery from pausing larger ships was only a month or less, because the projects drew on different workers and resources. Restarting construction required recovering dispersed workers and incorporating wartime design changes, which added further delay. Without the pause, later carriers could have been ready sooner and another carrier might have accompanied Force Z. In that counterfactual, fighters could attack the unescorted Japanese torpedo bombers operating at the limit of their range, greatly reducing the danger to Repulse and Prince of Wales. A carrier's fighter-control network might also have brought Singapore-based fighters into the defence.