Forrestal-class carriers as a Royal Navy alternative

Would the Royal Navy have been better off selling older carriers and buying Forrestal-class ships in the 1950s?

Probably, although a viable force would need at least three ships and the political case for that expenditure would be difficult.

Completing the Malta-class ships and acquiring large modern carriers had more merit than pouring money into older conversions. Forrestal-type ships would provide far more growth margin for postwar aircraft than repeatedly altered wartime hulls. Two carriers would still leave the force brittle whenever one entered refit. The chief obstacle would have been persuading the government to fund at least three ships for a sustainable cycle.