Eagle suffered damage from Italian SM.79 near misses on 12 October, but the aviation-fuel-system problem was not discovered until 5 November, too late for her to take part in Judgment. She had successfully covered another convoy on 27 October before the hidden damage was found, and repairs took roughly eleven or twelve days. That narrow timing shows why the carrier was unavailable even though she returned to service soon after Taranto. Her experienced air group nevertheless contributed Swordfish and Sea Gladiators to Illustrious, preserving some of its value within the reduced one-carrier strike.
Notable Point · 49:28-51:26
Eagle's absence constrained the Taranto strike
Near-miss damage to Eagle's aviation-fuel system went undiscovered until 5 November, removing a well-worked-up air group from Judgment and establishing the premise for the later two-carrier comparison.