Construction delays and the Royal Navy's aviation-fuel safeguards

The class spent years on the ways but completed comparatively quickly after launch because construction had been paused and then restarted amid a crowded wartime program. The ships also trained personnel who would build light fleet carriers while British yards refitted American-built escort carriers. The Royal Navy replaced American aviation-fuel arrangements with systems designed to reduce vapor and explosion risks. Fuel drained back out of the lines when aircraft were not being serviced, leaving hoses and hangar spaces safer during an attack. The system slowed refueling in exchange for tighter damage control.