The Colossus model required roughly a thousand personnel including its air group, compared with about 2,600 for an Essex-class carrier. That gap mattered as much as displacement because many postwar navies could not devote several thousand trained people to one hull. British light fleet carriers offered a proven aviation ship with manageable operating demands and were already familiar to allied fleets. Their manpower economy made the design a realistic basis for European and other medium navies after the Second World War.
Notable Point · 1:35:05-1:37:50
Why light fleet carriers spread among medium navies
British light fleet carriers offered allied navies a proven aviation ship without the crew burden of an Essex-sized fleet carrier.