A diversion to an Eastern Mediterranean short of carriers

After commissioning, Formidable was sent into the South Atlantic to hunt the raider responsible for sinking HMS Jervis Bay and was then intended to relieve Ark Royal at Gibraltar. Illustrious's damage off Malta instead left Admiral Cunningham needing a carrier in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the northward passage along East Africa, Formidable's Albacores attacked Italian ports and facilities, turning part of the delay into an improvised combat work-up. Acoustic mines in the Suez Canal held the carrier back for roughly a fortnight and forced a cautious transit using tugs with her machinery stopped. The mined choke point delayed carrier availability before combat even began. Mines were routine wartime tools, though their cost and expected recovery made peacetime deployment more awkward.