British carrier doctrine valued sorties and combined decks

Carrier effectiveness cannot be reduced to the number of aircraft printed in a reference table. Fleet Air Arm night-flying practice emphasized how often each aircraft could be kept serviceable and launched, encouraging a different balance between air-group size and sustained sortie generation. An operating method appropriate to the US Navy did not necessarily fit the Royal Navy’s missions and strategic position. British prewar doctrine anticipated multiple smaller carriers working together, even though wartime losses made many famous Royal Navy actions single-carrier operations. Preserving Courageous and Glorious would restore the pool of decks and air groups needed to practice that doctrine at scale.