The intended attack used two carriers, while the operation that took place used one. With Eagle available, Cunningham might have added eighteen Swordfish, allowing two waves of roughly twenty-one aircraft or perhaps a third attack. Two active carriers might also have warned the Italians that a larger operation was under way, although they did not rate Eagle as highly as Ark Royal. Extra carrier capacity could have altered the strike. It remained part of the plan, not the history of Taranto.
Notable Point · 22:51-23:58
What Eagle might have added at Taranto
A bounded counterfactual estimates the extra Swordfish capacity Eagle could have supplied and asks whether two active carriers would have alerted the Italians.