Bomb near misses on 12 October damaged Eagle's aviation-fuel system and aggravated existing piping problems. The fleet appears to have kept patching her while a possible action against the Italian fleet made two carriers especially valuable, but by 5 November the repairs would no longer hold. Five aircraft transferred to Illustrious, while Eagle remained at Alexandria during the Taranto raid. Commanders could not know whether withdrawing her earlier would prevent failure or leave a needed carrier absent from a fleet action.
Notable Point · 1:04:47-1:09:08
Deferred repairs keep Eagle out of the Taranto strike
Near-miss damage and failing aviation-fuel piping forced Eagle to miss Taranto after commanders had kept her operational for a possible fleet action.