Why larger aircraft required more than a new carrier lift

Could British carriers take larger American aircraft by fitting bigger lifts or taller hangars?

Only through substantial design work; lifts affected ship structure and balance, while folding-wing arrangements were often the more practical way around hangar limits.

A side lift could not simply be attached without considering its weight, balance, framing, and connection to the rest of the hull. Hangar height created another limit, but it did not automatically exclude a useful aircraft. Designers could fold wings upward or swing them back to reduce the stored dimensions. Carrier and aircraft teams had to solve an integrated geometry problem rather than change one component in isolation.