What was the Royal Navy's postwar thinking about battleships and battlecruisers?
Short answerIn a reduced fleet, carriers won because their reach and adaptable air groups covered more missions than battleships could.
NotesA large postwar fleet could still have used battleships beside carriers in combined task groups. Battleships remained efficient at direct sea control, fighting surface ships, and heavy gunfire support, but their weapons reached far less distance than carrier aircraft. Carriers could project force farther and change missions by changing their air groups. Once the Royal Navy had to shrink, that breadth made the carrier easier to justify than retaining a second capital-ship type for narrower strengths.