Formidable, Crete, and spare-parts logistics

Formidable supported battleship bombardment operations and then attempted to strike Axis airfields during the Crete campaign. Her Albacores were already becoming ineffective because the Coventry raid had disrupted the supply of essential aircraft spares. Britain's failure to diversify engine and component production before the war had become a serious logistical weakness. Planners had considered an Indian Ocean manufacturing base that could support the fleet without relying entirely on British factories. A company such as Napier might have operated it, but the idea had not matured before war began.