Formidable at Matapan and the limits of carrier guns

At Matapan, HMS Formidable was with the battleships as they prepared to engage cruisers. The admiral ordered the carrier away, although she still fired her guns. Those weapons primarily provided anti-aircraft defence against threats that passed the fighter screen and could discourage a surface ship that came too close. A deliberate night engagement with cruisers belonged to the accompanying surface warships. Withdrawing the carrier preserved the distinction between her principal role and that of a battleship.