Glojo I think you are making assumptions about what was and wasn't done.
There are two papers that were presented to the Royal Institution of Naval architects
R.N. AIRCRAFT CARRIER STUDIES BY J.F.P. EDDISON, RCNC.
(formerly FP211 CV(F) Project in DNA&FP)
© Crown Copyright/MoD (1997).
and
THE DESIGN OF HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH AND HMS PRINCE OF WALES BY S. T. D. KNIGHT THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER ALLIANCE, UK
© Crown Copyright/MoD (2009).
I see a lot of statements about why didn't we go cat and trap etc etc etc as if it was 'forgotten about' I suggest you hit google and then read through those papers. They are posted in full on one of the naval forums along with a lot of other engineering papers about carriers and give some insight into what went on. Both authors were members of the MOD Directorate of Future Projects (Navy) so I'd assume they kind of know what they are talking about.
Last edited by eaglemmoomin; 2nd May 2013 at 16:37.