Venator and the armored-carrier analogy

The Venator is an armored, heavily armed carrier willing to engage other ships directly. This combination makes its direct-fire role part of the design instead of an incidental self-defense fit. American carriers are not the real-world examples that first come to mind for this mixture of armor and ship-to-ship fighting. Protection and direct-fire doctrine are carrier design choices alongside the size and purpose of the air group.