Minimal carrier studies did not authorize construction

Where do claims about planned 17,000-ton Royal Navy carriers come from?

They come from design studies rather than an active construction plan; the papers explored alternatives and could inform later carrier projects.

A 17,000-ton carrier offered a minimal air group or minimal protection, making it an unattractive peacetime choice. Small designs nevertheless appeared in option studies alongside carriers of up to 27,000 tons and intermediate proposals. The disagreement with Roskill concerns whether those papers demonstrate an approved construction program. In this reading of the constructor records, discussion of an active building project is absent from the Third Sea Lord's exchanges with other Admiralty leaders. The studies could inform later designs, including Unicorn, without establishing that the Navy intended to build the specific small carriers on paper.