The comparison gives the Illustrious class a range of roughly 10,700 nautical miles and the Yorktown class about 12,500 nautical miles at similar economical speed. That difference carries different weight in the Mediterranean, North Sea, North Atlantic, South China Sea, and Central Pacific. British experience with sustaining blockades and replenishment at sea placed the carrier inside a larger logistics system. Quoted range alone cannot show whether a ship had enough endurance for its assigned theater.
Notable Point · 21:15-22:18
Carrier endurance depends on operating geography
A range comparison shows why carrier endurance must be judged against bases, routes, replenishment practice, and the theater in which a navy expects to fight.