G: thanks for the link – people moan at my syntax: try that. (Declinist historian Corelli Barnett has a comment on Brabazon Committee types, that UK would have done better spending the money on garden gnomes. Doubtless you agree).

CV as offense, as Fleet defence. It’s punch and parry, isn’t it; the striker and the sweeper. CDS Mountbatten got into a terrible tizzle hyping invulnerability…of both Valiant SSNs and CVA-01, which is doubtless why SSNs’ anti-SSBN role was emphasised. CV asset value justifies great sacrifice to sink it, or to preserve it – Spruance DD case in your link. Jellicoe at Jutland could lose the War at a stroke, and Philips did so, for UK in SE Asia, with PoW/Repulse (Alan Clark: “the day the Empire was lost forever”).

Isn’t cypherus right on abysmal Brit FAA types? CVEs, convoy protection, ASW: done well, expendable ex-merchant hulls, Swordfish. Boring; pawns. CVs too valuable to be risked; air complement must preserve the Queen before sallying forth. So we sought a team of midfielders, all-rounders. Jack of all, master of none. G’s link has USN as 3-planes, which I take to imply role-specific quality.