Formidable spent much of February and part of March 1941 in the Indian Ocean. Her presence shows that the Royal Navy was willing to send a modern fleet carrier east before Japan entered the war. The theater still did not possess an unlimited permanent battle fleet, because the same major units were needed elsewhere. The movement nevertheless complicates any claim that Britain ignored eastern carrier operations until the crisis of 1942.
Notable Point · 1:49:42-1:50:03
HMS Formidable's early 1941 Indian Ocean deployment
Formidable's February and March 1941 deployment challenges the idea that Britain ignored the Indian Ocean before Japan entered the war.