Royal Navy Eastern Waters and carrier availability

Andrew Boyd's Eastern Waters is recommended as an introduction to the Royal Navy from the mid-1930s to the middle of the Second World War. Boyd's criticism of armoured-carrier limitations prompts a disagreement: Alex Clarke gives greater weight to treaty tonnage, the structural flight deck and space for aircraft maintenance. A smaller air group with more workshops and maintenance personnel could keep a higher proportion of its aircraft serviceable over several days. The illustrative comparison is between sustaining 60-70 percent availability and seeing a larger, less-supported group fall to 20-30 percent, rather than a measured result for every carrier class. The book also connects naval strategy with Middle Eastern oil supplies and the tanker capacity needed to sustain the wider imperial war effort.