How would the Cold War change if Britain built CVA-01 and sister ships as nuclear-powered supercarriers?
Short answerA likely three-carrier class would keep Britain a major naval power, but only with matching investment in aircraft, escorts and support forces.
NotesIn 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.