Why a night torpedo raid seemed too costly

Why did Pound accept dangerous manoeuvres with valuable ships but reject a night air raid as too risky?

One suggested explanation is the scarcity of aircraft and specially trained night-flying crews, whose loss could leave an otherwise serviceable carrier without an air group.

Pound was willing to risk valuable ships in hazardous close-passing manoeuvres, yet rejected an air raid with a concrete operational purpose. One possible explanation is the speed at which aircraft wore out under combat conditions and the danger of leaving a serviceable carrier without an air group. Glorious had practised attacks on Alexandria harbour at night, requiring preparation that ordinary pilots could not immediately reproduce. Losing that specialist group in one mission would affect operations throughout the war. This remains a proposed explanation of Pound's motive.