The Malta class and Britain's postwar carrier choice

The Malta design was a large British counterpart to the Midway class, with two deck-edge lifts as well as centerline lifts and room for an air group of roughly 80 to 108 aircraft. At about 47,600 tons standard and nearly 58,600 tons deep load, it approached the length of a modern Queen Elizabeth-class carrier while retaining armor and heavy defensive weapons. Its machinery and approximately 11,000-ton load margin promised substantial stores for sustained operations. The argument presented here is that Clement Attlee's government cancelled the class in the hope of peace and immediate savings. That decision left the Royal Navy trying to extract Malta-like range and sortie generation from smaller wartime carriers with much less growth margin.