The defeat in Greece and the worsening situation on Crete made inaction politically and militarily difficult for Churchill's government. After Dunkirk, the exhausting Battle of Britain and Blitz, and the Greek campaign, another apparent defeat carried a political cost alongside the military loss. Cunningham warned that sending the battle fleet close to Crete without air cover would expose scarce ships to land-based aircraft while destroyers and cruisers were already being pounded. Formidable's engineers eventually made thirteen Fulmars available, and reliable Swordfish supplemented the understrength strike group. The intended raid on Scarpanto aimed to suppress Stukas threatening the fleet and the troops ashore. Removing that pressure might have given the land command time to regroup, correct mistakes, and perhaps make continued resistance on Crete viable.
Chapter · 34:32-44:09
Crete and the pressure to risk an understrength carrier
Political demands for action at Crete confronted Cunningham's warning that he could not safely expose battleships without air cover, leading to a raid on the Scarpanto Stuka base.