Q&A · 2:05:09-2:06:14

If CVA-01 became a nuclear carrier class

A three-ship nuclear CVA-01 force would preserve Britain as a major naval power only by pulling aircraft, escorts and wider investment along with the carriers.

Question

How would the Cold War change if Britain built CVA-01 and sister ships as nuclear-powered supercarriers?

Short answer

A likely three-carrier class would keep Britain a major naval power, but only with matching investment in aircraft, escorts and support forces.

Notes

In this counterfactual, CVA-01 enters the 1970s as a nuclear-powered supercarrier. Britain would probably build a class of three rather than stop at one or two ships. That would give the Royal Navy the largest nuclear carrier force outside the United States and sustain great-power status at sea. The carriers would not be sufficient alone: aircraft, escorts and support systems would have to follow the original capital investment.