Why Victorious was the costly carrier to reconstruct

What prevented the Implacable class from receiving a Victorious-style modernization?

The cost of rebuilding Victorious first exhausted support for further reconstructions. The Implacables were larger and less war-worn, while completing the cancelled Malta program would have required an earlier change of policy.

The Implacable class offered larger ships with less wartime service and damage than Victorious, making them the preferred reconstruction candidates in this assessment. Victorious instead underwent the expensive rebuilding program of 1950-1958, after which Britain abandoned equivalent work on other carriers. Alex estimates that the same expenditure could have completed all four Malta-class carriers. That alternative prompts a disagreement about timing: the Malta program had already been cancelled, but Alex places the selection of Victorious in 1946, before the disposal of Malta material around 1947. The possible alternative therefore depends on an earlier decision to preserve and complete the Malta program, and the panel distinguishes that theoretical opportunity from its practical likelihood.