The production argument suggests as many as ten hulls by 1940, with twelve offered as a further possibility. It assumes an expansion from the original two suitable slipways to four and eventually perhaps six. The estimate does not assume that every hull would be completed and operational by 1940. Ten hulls could include three carriers, while the twelve-hull version allows roughly four or five. The illustrative mixes vary as the argument develops, so they should not be read as one fixed fleet list. Diesel-powered destroyers would give the resulting carrier and capital-ship groups escorts for long Atlantic operations.
Chapter · 38:06-40:02
The estimate of ten to twelve hulls by 1940
The projected build programme produces alternative mixes of carriers and fast capital ships, with completion dates left uncertain.