Ark Royal's hangar area and flight-deck length are offered as reasons to call her a supercarrier, but that argument would also cover Lexington and Saratoga. All three are classified here as fleet carriers. The distinction begins with Forrestal and considers catapult capability together with the size of aircraft, available space, and number of aircraft operated. Those operating requirements make a single deck-length or hangar-area measurement inadequate.
Notable Point · 3:57:35-3:59:58
The supercarrier label begins with Forrestal
The distinction drawn at Forrestal combines catapults, aircraft size, aviation space, and air-group capacity; Ark Royal's dimensions alone do not establish the category.