Formidable and the floating-moving-fighting test

On 27 May 1941, Formidable came under dive-bomber attack while returning toward Egypt after a raid. One bomb passed through the unarmoured outer flight deck and exploded outside the hull, while a near miss opened the starboard side below the waterline. Fighters could land afterward, but takeoffs remained suspended until 1800. Keeping the carrier afloat took priority, propulsion remained usable, and reopening the flight deck restored fighting capacity later that day. Experienced officers had learned from Illustrious personnel, and Formidable's relatively fresh watertight boundaries let them contain the damage quickly. Emergency hull repairs at Alexandria preceded fuller work at Norfolk, and she returned to service by February 1942 after repairs and modifications.