Six carriers support a globally distributed fleet

Eagle, Furious, Courageous, and Glorious provided four fleet carriers alongside the smaller Hermes and Argus. These six hulls fell far short of the pre-treaty ambition and had to cover maintenance and geographically separated commitments at home, in the Mediterranean, and in the Far East. Enclosed hangars protected aircraft from North Sea weather and supported sustained operations. Carrier layout also reflected two related missions: a concentrated strike and a continuous flow of reconnaissance, fighter cover, and smaller attacks. Growing aircraft weight steadily eroded the usefulness of short flying-off decks and reduced air-group capacity. Britain's need for several deployable hulls made the cumulative treaty tonnage limit more restrictive than the maximum allowed size of one carrier.