Q&A · 31:21-34:07

An Incomparable carrier would not need a battleship-sized secondary battery

A very large carrier conversion could carry substantial anti-aircraft defenses without simply retaining capital-ship weapons.

Question

Would the combined anti-aircraft armament of Courageous, Glorious, and Furious suit an Incomparable-class carrier?

Short answer

It could support a powerful air-defense fit, but the carrier would more likely carry cruiser-type weapons and anti-aircraft guns than a proportionally enlarged battleship battery.

Notes

Displacement did not automatically determine secondary-battery weight. Early carriers were commonly armed more like cruisers, so an Incomparable conversion would likely emphasize cruiser-caliber and anti-aircraft weapons rather than recreate its original battlecruiser armament. Comparisons with Japanese capital ships show that a much larger hull did not necessarily receive proportionally more secondary guns. The design question is which weapons support flight operations and self-defense, rather than how to fill every ton inherited from the proposed battlecruiser.