Rosyth assembly and the cost of delay

Carrier dimensions depend on docks available for both construction and later servicing. Building to the capacity of the country's largest dock would leave only one domestic docking option unless further infrastructure were funded. Rosyth also imposed an entrance constraint and mattered politically because naval shipbuilding supported Scotland's place within the United Kingdom. Building blocks across several yards could accelerate construction and spread employment and political support, while adding assembly complexity and cost. Delays were intended to postpone operating expenditure and avoid bringing the ships into service before their aircraft were ready. The rough cost comparison is that two carriers ultimately cost a little more than three could have cost. Equipment and systems supplied from factories across the country made the programme a wider industrial and technological undertaking.