Force Z's missing fighter cover is traced here to an interservice communication failure. The Navy asked whether air support was available and understood the reply "no" to mean that no aircraft could help. In this account, the RAF meant that no strike aircraft were free even though a fighter squadron was waiting. The attacking Japanese torpedo bombers had to fly predictable attack runs and carried no defensive guns, so even Brewster Buffalo fighters could have disrupted them. Shared terminology and command procedures mattered more than any one aircraft's reputation.
Notable Point · 21:41-26:40
How interservice language left Force Z without fighter cover
A mismatch over the meaning of air support is presented as the reason Force Z did not call on fighters that were reportedly available against unarmed torpedo bombers.