Illustrious-class build delays

The construction dates for Illustrious, Formidable, Victorious, and Indomitable put numbers behind the carrier shortage. Illustrious took about 37 months from laying down to commissioning, Formidable 41 months, Victorious 48 months, and Indomitable 47 months. Time from laying down to launch rose from about 24 months for Illustrious to 26 for Formidable and 28 for Victorious and Indomitable. Launch-to-commission time also rose from 13 months to as much as 20. These armoured carriers were complicated ships, although they did not consume battleship-scale masses of steel; labour and shipyard commitment were crucial constraints. Because all four had been ordered before the war, their uneven schedules support the argument that pausing cruisers, carriers, and capital ships cost the fleet operational availability. Force Z's missing flight deck followed from accumulated months in construction rather than a single December 1941 decision.