Without strict individual limits, the King George V class would probably move toward the larger Lion concept. The same freedom changes carrier design because the 27,000-ton Ark Royal and Illustrious studies already combined armor, underwater protection, subdivision, and a useful strike air group. Those studies resemble the later Implacable class closely enough to offer Fisher a credible starting point rather than a blank sheet. His preference for conspicuous capability would therefore replace several historical treaty compromises with larger ships whose characteristics had already been explored. This would bring forward designs the Royal Navy had judged desirable and set aside for political reasons, within the limits of plans it had already studied.
Chapter · 1:18:29-1:19:51
Fisher chooses larger battleships and carriers
Freed from strict treaty limits, Fisher likely substitutes Lion-like battleships and Implacable-like carriers for the historical compromises of the late 1930s.