Glorious sailed with an escort described as closer to peacetime strength, despite Royal Navy practice of keeping several destroyers near a high-value carrier. Courageous was committed to anti-submarine work intended for cruiser-carrier types, even though Ark Royal was supporting the same campaign. Both employments departed from the role and escort assumptions behind Reginald Henderson's carrier doctrine. Their loss did more than subtract hulls: it disrupted the balance of strike and battle carriers on which later multi-carrier operations depended.
Notable Point · 9:02-12:24
Courageous and Glorious broke the planned carrier force
Early losses removed two strike carriers after employment that departed from the force structure and escort assumptions behind British doctrine.