An alternative layout with one port lift and two starboard lifts would require expensive changes to the four-lift design. Keeping the port lifts and fitting an angled deck between them offered a less disruptive option, with a starboard lift as a possible addition. The arrangement was judged operationally sufficient even though imperfect. Removal of the 4.5-inch guns was also expected as part of later modification. Victorious supplies the cautionary comparison: choosing expensive structural options throughout a rebuild could produce severe cost growth.
Notable Point · 2:56:33-2:59:49
Malta-class angled-deck changes without a Victorious-scale rebuild
Retaining Malta's port lifts could accommodate an angled deck at lower cost than rebuilding around a different lift arrangement.