Partial battleship-to-carrier conversions indicate that the war had already gone badly enough to force emergency improvisation. A more deliberate counterfactual would build fast ocean liners with conversion in mind so they could receive full-length flight decks and small hangars on a few months' notice. Properly protected 8-inch cruisers could then escort those converted ships. This is a design judgment rather than a programme Japan actually adopted. The comparison separates planned mobilisation capacity from the desperation of trying to recover aviation strength from existing battleships.
Notable Point · 1:55:05-1:56:08
Convertible liners versus Japan's hybrid battleships
A counterfactual contrasts desperate battleship-flight-deck conversions with a preplanned reserve of fast liners that could become small carriers.