A more destructive Taranto raid could release the modernised Queen Elizabeth-class battleships Warspite, Queen Elizabeth, and Valiant from Mediterranean duties. They would strengthen the heavier force following the Allied fast capital ships in the Atlantic. The comparison is Somerville's Force A and Force B, with the faster group finding and engaging the enemy while the slower group moves up to finish the action. This is presented as an established British doctrinal approach. Part of the French argument for Dunkerque and Strasbourg had been that their speed could fill a Royal Navy shortage. Providing those ships would make France a more useful partner and help secure British support for the alliance.
Notable Point · 1:01:36-1:03:13
Fast ships find the fight and heavy ships close in
Modernised Queen Elizabeths could support an Anglo-French fast force, using a doctrine in which fast ships engage the enemy before heavier ships arrive.