How to read Roskill on interwar naval policy

Can Roskill's interwar naval policy history still be trusted if its carrier claims are wrong?

Yes, but construction sections and some strategic conclusions need caution because important decision-makers were unavailable and had left incomplete records.

Roskill's interwar naval history contains useful material despite the disputed carrier-construction claims. Its construction sections and some strategic conclusions need particular caution. Many senior officers and technical decision-makers from the 1920s, including Henderson, were dead by the time he wrote. Some had also left inadequate notes, limiting the perspectives available to reconstruct their decisions.