Carrier strength on paper did not automatically translate into aircraft available for a strike after weeks at sea. Arrested landings were especially punishing to airframes, so the American need to rotate shorter-endurance combat air patrols more often accelerated wear. British Fireflies and earlier Fulmars could remain aloft longer, reducing the number of damaging landing cycles required for continuous cover. British carriers also contained heavy-duty workshops with some protection, allowing engineers to restore aircraft while the ship remained operational. These differences help explain how a smaller nominal British air group could sometimes generate a larger serviceable strike than a bigger American group after sustained operations.
Notable Point · 14:00-16:31
Carrier landings, maintenance, and usable air-group strength
Frequent combat air patrol rotations increased landing wear, making maintenance capacity and aircraft serviceability as important as nominal air-group size.