A carrier's distance from its target depends on the aircraft's weapon load and ability to make the return flight. The Devastator's quoted range is substantially greater with bombs than with a Mark 13 torpedo. The Dauntless provides another long-ranging attack aircraft, but its total range also has to cover the journey home. A working estimate of roughly 300 nautical miles around the carrier group makes a launch about 200 miles off the enemy coast plausible. Aircraft arriving over a target would therefore reveal the attack without necessarily revealing the carrier's position.
Notable Point · 30:43-32:14
Aircraft range and a carrier's distance from the target
Devastator and Dauntless range figures help explain how a carrier could attack a coast while remaining hundreds of miles offshore.