A carrier victory weakens Billy Mitchell's case

How influential would Billy Mitchell become after a successful Royal Navy carrier strike?

The scenario gives naval aviation the celebrated victory and reduces Mitchell's European wartime experience, both of which are presented as obstacles to his independent-air-power argument.

The imagined debate gives naval leaders a carrier victory to cite in response to Mitchell's claims about air power and battleships. An earlier end to the war would also reduce his European wartime experience. Both changes are used to explain a weaker position for his independent-air-power argument within this scenario. The argument distinguishes the institutional implications of a naval strike from those of land-based bombing.