New construction would push older conversions into reserve

The Royal Navy expected newer Ark Royal, Illustrious-class, and Implacable-class construction to replace much of its experimental conversion generation. Furious, Eagle, Hermes, and Argus were therefore unlikely to justify unlimited modernization, while Courageous and Glorious might have moved into reserve. Carrier tonnage limits forced planners to count the new ships against a fixed allowance and decide which older hulls still earned a place. Their later wartime usefulness has to be read alongside the prewar expectation that purpose-built replacements would arrive on schedule.