The counterfactual adds carrier support to Hood and Prince of Wales, to King George V’s force, and to Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Aircraft would then scout and strike before the opposing battle lines reached visual gun range. Fighters might engage each other before the surface fleets met, changing both detection and damage before the historical action. The point is not a predicted winner but how adding naval aviation transforms the sequence of a capital-ship encounter.
Notable Point · 30:45-31:08
A carrier battle before Denmark Strait
Carriers accompanying both German and British capital ships could move the decisive contact ahead of the historical Denmark Strait gun battle.