LW20,
Perhaps I can help a bit.
In my experience, most land based jet fixed wing sorties are fully fuelled, at least the internals. With external tanks, again usually fully fuelled.
On carriers, this is definitely not the case, especially if weapons are being carried. For catapult launch fuel load is often juggled against other factors (e.g. Wind over deck, sea state, individual aircraft weight, stores carried, catapult condition, sortie profile) to allow a safe launch from the ship.
For STOVL ops, it was usually full fuel, given the fairly limited fuel loads available on the first generation (Harrier) airframes. Howeve, this could be traded against weapon loads for short sorties.
For all carrier launches, there will also be detailed CG calculations to support application of correct trim and propulsion system settings.
Complicated stuff, this naval aviation.
Best regards as ever to all those doing the sums out there on the ocean deep,
Engines