The Salerno beaches sat at the edge of fighter range from Sicily, leaving too little time overhead for continuous protection. Unicorn, Battler, Attacker, Hunter, and Stalker therefore formed a compact carrier force whose own aircraft covered the landing while fleet carriers protected the force from seaward and air attack. Shore-based Spitfires could remain over the beaches for only about twenty minutes, leaving just nine fighters present at a time. Force V converted small flight decks into persistent local air cover without diverting the fleet carriers from the covering force.
Chapter · 2:12:26-2:18:30
Why Salerno needed five small carriers
Land-based Spitfires had only twenty minutes over Salerno, so Force V brought five carriers to sustain fighter cover over the beaches.