Damage kept Eagle unavailable and forced the Royal Navy to abandon the planned multi-carrier strike. The change reduced the attacking force from more than thirty aircraft to about twenty and left Illustrious as the sole carrier. Illustrious still carried Fairey Fulmars, Gloster Sea Gladiators, and Fairey Swordfish, but the Swordfish formed the striking element described here. The episode shows how carrier availability and air-group composition can reshape an operation before the first aircraft launches.
Chapter · 9:06-9:44
Eagle's absence reduces the strike force
Damage to HMS Eagle turned a planned multi-carrier operation into a smaller strike from Illustrious, with only about twenty attacking aircraft available.