Originally conceived as a class of eight vessels, with the end of hostilities, work on all the ships was suspended and four units "Monmouth", "Polyphemus", "Arrogant" and "Hermes" were cancelled outright. The four remaining vessels remained uncompleted for the best part of a decade. The earlier light fleet carriers of the "Colossus" and "Majestic" classes were completed before work resumed on the larger ships. With the extended completion periods of the units, and the rapid advances in aircraft carrier design at the time of their building, it was almost inevitable that large differences should be seen between the various members of the class.