Geography made armored carriers rational for Britain

What did other navies make of Britain's armored carriers, and why did Britain choose them?

Other navies also moved toward protection; Britain prioritized it because treaty limits forced a tradeoff and its likely theaters exposed carriers to land-based air attack.

The naval treaties turned armor and air-group size into a displacement tradeoff that no navy would have chosen without limits. American and Japanese planners expected decisive carrier action across the central or western Pacific and emphasized a larger striking group. British planners anticipated the Mediterranean, South China Sea, and North Atlantic, where carriers could remain within reach of shore-based aircraft. In those confined theaters, an armored flight deck was a coherent answer to attacks expected to penetrate the fighter screen rather than evidence that Britain undervalued aviation.