Is the Royal Navy still highly cautious about deck parking and aviation-fuel exposure?
Short answerThe Queen Elizabeth class suggests that the caution persists, although the assessment rests on conversations rather than inspection of its fuel-system drawings.
NotesThe Queen Elizabeth class's fuel-management system is offered as evidence that the Royal Navy remains highly cautious about aviation fuel. Clarke considers parts of it potentially overengineered based on conversations about the system. He has not seen its schematics and cannot make the same detailed comparison that he could with the World War II carrier drawings he has examined. The judgment rests on conversations rather than inspection of the modern system.