Force Z shows why fighter interception mattered even when the fighters did not destroy every bomber. The Japanese aircraft that found Prince of Wales and Repulse were unescorted and near the limit of their fuel after searching the South China Sea. Radar-directed carrier fighters could have broken the formation into isolated attacks before it reached the ships. Individual bombers would then have faced maneuvering capital ships and concentrated anti-aircraft fire without the confidence and coordination of a massed strike. Survival is a strong counterfactual rather than a certainty, because an improbable hit could still defeat an otherwise effective defensive system.
Notable Point · 1:33:49-1:35:48
Why carrier fighters might have saved Force Z
Radar-directed carrier fighters could have broken up unescorted Japanese bomber formations at the edge of their range and reduced the danger to Prince of Wales and Repulse.