If carrier fighters had prevented the historical damage to Force Z, British fast capital ships could have remained available for ABDA Command. Tom Phillips and an accompanying British staff would also have offered a different command structure from the overstretched Dutch arrangement. A surviving force could then have strengthened the case for assigning a carrier to support it. Ark Royal's need for maintenance would still have complicated deployment if she had survived, although a refit at Bombay is proposed as one possible route to service in the Indian Ocean. These are conditional alternatives, and damage and repairs continued to restrict the carriers actually available.
Notable Point · 2:42:27-2:45:09
How a surviving Force Z could have strengthened ABDA
Carrier protection for Force Z could have preserved fast capital ships and a British command staff for the later defense of the Dutch East Indies.