Seafury45 #9828 It's astonishing we had anybody left alive by the end of 1940.
In 1938 the Navy ordered the carrier HMS Implacable, which was limited to 23,000 tonnes, thanks to the Washington Treaty. Needless to say the Italians and Japanese had long since abandoned their commitment to the treaty. etc. etc. etc. She was commissioned in 1944 (albeit rather over-weight) so even by then we were still hobbled. (According to Wikipedia anyway.)
But then it was an obsolete naval plane that enabled the Bismark to be sunk.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38297099