Trade-protection carrier plans before the war

Could Britain have fielded a dozen trade-protection carriers before the war with enough aircraft and crews?

Plans and suitable hulls existed, but aircraft supply, political caution, conversion time, and competing demands on liners and tankers limited what could be done.

Aircraft capacity in 1939 was different from the later pressure created by the Battle of Britain. An immediate conversion decision at Henderson's July 1938 meeting might have been useful, although the government feared that visible rearmament could precipitate conflict before Britain was ready. The obvious hulls were fast liners needed for troop transport or tankers valuable for fleet oiling and amphibious support. Converting them therefore sacrificed capabilities useful in other war plans. The Royal Navy had several designs and candidate lists, but no cost-free pool of ships and aircraft waiting to become trade-protection carriers.