Ark Royal's subdivision and counter-flooding problem

Did Ark Royal's subdivision leave her unusually vulnerable?

No; she was well subdivided, but her high top weight made flooding and counter-flooding unusually demanding.

The carrier was designed with substantial internal subdivision, so her loss cannot be reduced to an absence of compartments. Flooding and counter-flooding still had to be balanced correctly after damage. A carrier's high flight deck, aviation fuel, and other upper weights made stability especially sensitive. Built-in survivability could not remove the need for difficult damage-control decisions after a hit.