Akagi left Sasebo on 30 January and arrived off Hainan on 2 February to support Japanese operations against the island and southern China. After arriving, the carrier spends several days bombing civilian targets before joining the main force. The proposed British force gathers HMS Eagle, the County-class cruisers Kent, Cornwall, and Dorsetshire, HMS Cardiff, and several D-class destroyers near Hong Kong as Akagi passes the concentration. Akagi's escort consists of four older destroyers without the later Long Lance torpedoes, while Japanese doctrine assigns much maritime patrol work to flying boats instead of carrier aircraft. Eagle's eighteen Swordfish can spread a broad reconnaissance screen, and Japanese radio traffic offers another means of finding the force. The proposed attack uses air-spotted, long-range eight-inch cruiser gunfire instead of an immediate carrier-aircraft strike. Timing it around Akagi's morning flying operations could catch the aircraft absent from the ship or crowded on deck. Akagi's movement is historical; the British decision to exploit it is the counterfactual part of the scenario.
Chapter · 17:00-23:51
Using HMS Eagle to find Akagi first
Akagi's real movement toward the Hainan invasion gives HMS Eagle's Swordfish reconnaissance and the Fifth Cruiser Squadron a plausible opportunity for a surprise surface attack.