Question: Which class of ships was larger, Iowa-class battleship or Essex-class aircraft carrier?

Context paragraphs:
The Saga of the Franklin: The Saga of the Franklin (1945) is a 16-mm Kodachrome color documentary film produced about the aircraft carrier USS "Franklin", nicknamed "Big Ben", one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II.  The aircraft carrier was hit by a Japanese dive bomber on March 19, 1945.  The "USS Franklin" was the most heavily damaged carrier in World War II to survive an attack.

Essex-class aircraft carrier: The "Essex" class was a class of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy that constituted the 20th century's most numerous class of capital ships.  The class consisted of 24 vessels, which came in "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions.  Thirty-two ships were originally ordered, but as World War II wound down, six were canceled before construction, and two were canceled after construction had begun.  No "Essex"-class ships were lost to enemy action, despite several vessels sustaining very heavy damage.  The "Essex"-class carriers were the backbone of the U.S. Navy's combat strength during World War II from mid-1943 on, and, along with the addition of the three "Midway"-class carriers just after the war, continued to be the heart of U.S. naval strength until the supercarriers began to come into the fleet in numbers during the 1960s and 1970s.

USS Midway (CV-41): USS "Midway" (CVB/CVA/CV-41) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class.  Commissioned a week after the end of World War II, "Midway" was the largest ship in the world until 1955, as well as the first U.S. aircraft carrier too big to transit the Panama Canal.  A revolutionary hull design, based on the planned "Montana"-class battleship , gave her enhanced protection compared to previous carriers.  She operated for 47 years, during which time she saw action in the Vietnam War and served as the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991's Operation Desert Storm.  Decommissioned in 1992, she is now a museum ship at the USS "Midway" Museum, in San Diego, California, and the only remaining U.S. aircraft carrier commissioned right after World War II ended that was not an "Essex"-class aircraft carrier .

Type 002 aircraft carrier: The Type 002 aircraft carrier is a second generation Chinese aircraft carrier design.  The ship will be the first Chinese aircraft carrier to be equipped with a catapult.  According to the latest report, the construction of this carrier has been rescheduled for a decision on the catapults, where the latest competition results suggested that steam catapults will be used in the Type 002 aircraft carrier.  The addition of aircraft catapult will give China the ability to launch various fixed wing support aircraft like airborne early warning (AEW) and carrier onboard delivery aircraft.  Fighters can also be launched at full combat load and reach its full potential unlike current Type 001 aircraft carriers operated by Chinese navy.

List of sunken aircraft carriers: With the advent of heavier-than-air flight, the aircraft carrier has become a decisive weapon at sea.  In 1911 aircraft began to be successfully launched and landed on ships with the successful flight of a Curtiss Pusher aboard the USS "Pennsylvania".  The British Royal Navy pioneered the first aircraft carrier as floatplanes, as flying boats under performed compared to traditional land based aircraft.  The first true aircraft carrier was the HMS "Argus" , launched in late 1917 with a complement of 20 aircraft, a flight deck of 550 ft and 68 ft wide.  The last aircraft carrier sunk in wartime was the Japanese carrier "Amagi", in Kure Harbour in July 1945.  The greatest loss of life was the 2,046 killed on the "Akitsu Maru"—a converted passenger liner with a small flight deck, carrying the Imperial Japanese Army's 64th Infantry Regiment.

Iowa-class battleship: The "Iowa"-class battleships were a class of six fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940 to escort the Fast Carrier Task Forces that would operate in the Pacific Theater of World War II.  Four were completed, two more were laid down but canceled in August 1945, at war's end, and both hulls were scrapped in 1958.  Like other third-generation American battleships, the "Iowa"s followed the design pattern set forth in the preceding "North Carolina"-class and "South Dakota"-class battleships, which emphasized speed in addition to secondary and anti-aircraft batteries.  Based on wartime experience, they were to serve as fast escorts for "Essex"-class aircraft carrier s.

Lion-class battleship: The "Lion"-class battleships were a class of six fast battleships designed for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s.  They were a larger, improved version of the "King George V" class with 16 in guns.  Only two ships were laid down before the Second World War began in September 1939 and a third was ordered during the war, but their construction was suspended shortly afterwards.  Their design changed several times in response to the removal of treaty restrictions on size and in light of war experience.  None of the other ships planned were laid down, although there was a proposal to modify one of the suspended ships into a hybrid battleship/aircraft carrier with two 16-inch gun turrets and a flight deck.  The two ships already begun were scrapped after the end of the war.

Refueling and overhaul: In the United States Navy, Refueling and Overhaul (ROH) refers to a lengthy process or procedure performed on nuclear-powered naval ships, which involves replacement of expended nuclear fuel with new fuel and a general maintenance fix-up, renovation, and often modernization of the entire ship.  In theory, such a process could simply involve only refueling or only an overhaul, but nuclear refueling is usually combined with an overhaul.  An ROH usually takes one to two years for submarines and up to almost three years for an aircraft carrier, performed at a naval shipyard.  Time periods between ROHs on a ship have varied historically from about 5–20 years (for submarines) to up to 25 years (for "Nimitz"-class aircraft carrier s).  For modern submarines and aircraft carriers, ROHs are typically carried out about midway through their operating lifespan.  There are also shorter maintenance fix-ups called "availabilities" for ships periodically at shipyards.  A particularly lengthy refueling, maintenance, and modernization process for a nuclear aircraft carrier can last up to almost three years and be referred to as a Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH).

Invincible-class aircraft carrier: The "Invincible" class was a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Navy.  Three ships were constructed, HMS "Invincible" , HMS "Illustrious" and HMS "Ark Royal" .  The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked Sea Harrier aircraft and Sea King HAS.1 anti-submarine helicopters.  With cancellation of the aircraft carriers renewal program in the 1960s, the three ships became the replacements for "Ark Royal" and "Eagle" fleet carriers and the "Centaur"-class light fleet carriers, and the Royal Navy's sole class of aircraft carrier.

HMS Eagle (1918): HMS "Eagle" was an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy.  Ordered by Chile during the South American dreadnought race as the "Almirante Latorre"-class battleship "Almirante Cochrane", she was laid down before World War I.  In early 1918 she was purchased by Britain for conversion to an aircraft carrier; this work was finished in 1924.  Her completion was delayed by labour troubles and the possibility that she might be repurchased by Chile for reconversion into a battleship, as well as the need for comparative trials to determine the optimum layout for aircraft carriers.  The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and then later to the China Station, spending very little time in home waters other than for periodic refits.

Supporting paragraphs: Iowa-class battleship Essex-class aircraft carrier
Answer: "Essex" class