British Essex Class

[Peg Leg Pom]

Hold on, don't you have Albion/Bulwark sold to Canada/India there, but then being converted to Commando Carriers to replace Theseus and Ocean? Or are these two new ships built instead of the Invincibles?

They are new builds, think larger Invincibles with dedicated Royal Marine berthing and 4 landing craft on davits. Airgroup of 6 Harriers, 10 Westland Commandos and 4 Lynx.

 

[Peg Leg Pom]

The cost and delay of the victorious rebuild is not a universal constant law of the universe, it was simply because the boilers weren't replaced when the ship was torn down. If the boilers were replaced during the first teardown then the refit would have been much cheaper but to a lesser standard than OTL. In the long run this would probably be the best thing to happen, the rapid pace of change in the 50s isn't going to be kind to Britain.

The saga of Victorious's rebuild is what caused a rethink in the Navy's plans. OTL it led to the cancellation of further rebuilds and a reliance on the Centaurs. In this case the decision is different in that the rebuilds are still cancelled along with Hermes but 2 copies of Victorious are built from scratch. Yes the size of the ships imposes limitations on them but as much as the Navy wanted supercarriers realistically given the state of Britains finances they weren't going to get them unless radical cuts were made elsewhere (such as reducing BAOR to a merely token force).