Twin-engine carrier aircraft and the Admiral-class alternative

Admiral-class conversions could be large enough to support aircraft in the Beaufighter or Sea Hornet mould. A central-fuselage cannon battery, wing guns, torpedo or bomb load, speed, and long range could combine fighter escort and strike functions in fewer aircraft types. The carriers would need suitably large deck-edge lifts and hangar arrangements, while the national engine programme would have to support two engines per airframe. Greater range could allow early wartime attacks on German ships in harbour or fitting out, when open compartments and incomplete crews made even limited damage disproportionately disruptive. British carrier doctrine already demanded all-weather and night capability, making such aircraft more than a simple size experiment. The counterfactual links hull choice to aircraft design, engine production, doctrine, and operational reach.