A continuation of the Yorktown line is considered more likely than a large early run of Essex-class carriers. Taiho and Implacable could encourage American designers to add armour to that approach. The original Midway design provides a comparison because its arrangement is described as closer to an armoured Yorktown than to Essex. The projected ships would not necessarily carry the Midway name, since the battle giving that class its name has not happened in this scenario. Perhaps two such carriers could be ordered. Carrier operations at Mers-el-Kebir and Taranto have also not occurred, so their contribution to confidence in naval aviation is absent.
Notable Point · 1:05:10-1:08:17
A protected Yorktown offers a different American carrier path
Continued peace could encourage a small number of protected Yorktown-type carriers before combat demonstrates the case for a much larger carrier force.