Six Fulmars from HMS Victorious helped track Bismarck, allowing Swordfish to assemble for the strike rather than remain tied to search work. That flexibility mattered because the Royal Navy had to build its carrier force within a 135,000-ton treaty allowance. It chose greater survivability and sustained operation at the cost of larger air groups, which made aircraft able to perform several fleet tasks especially useful. The design choice also reflected the distance between a Far Eastern war and British repair yards, since heavily damaged carriers might otherwise have to cross the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean before receiving major work.
Chapter · 1:04:24-1:08:04
Tracking Bismarck and the Royal Navy's carrier tradeoff
Fulmars helped HMS Victorious track Bismarck, showing the value of a multi-role aircraft aboard carriers constrained by treaty tonnage and global repair distances.