Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:43:09-2:44:32

Why Britain needed a third Queen Elizabeth-class carrier

Aviation-capable amphibious assault ships and a third full-size fleet carrier offered more value than another intermediate carrier class.

Aircraft CarriersAmphibious Assault ShipsForce StructureInvincible Class Aircraft CarriersQueen Elizabeth Class Aircraft CarriersRoyal Navy
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Question

Would a pair of larger Invincible-type carriers have been useful before the Queen Elizabeth class?

Short answer

Not as useful as aviation-capable LHDs and a third Queen Elizabeth-class fleet carrier.

Notes

Britain already had several Invincible-class and supporting aviation ships, so inserting another carrier type between them and Queen Elizabeth would add little. A better path would replace Fearless and Intrepid with aviation-capable LHDs and, above all, build a third Queen Elizabeth-class carrier named Ark Royal. Paying the industrial cost of roughly three and a half ships while accepting only two left the force unnecessarily brittle.