An early de Havilland Hornet changes carrier aviation

What changes if the Hornet airframe replaces the Mosquito and enters service in 1940?

Britain gains an unusually long-ranged, heavily armed fighter whose naval version could transform carrier deployments and long-distance escort missions.

An early Hornet would combine very long range with four 20-millimetre cannon and useful rocket capacity. The discussion imagines HMS Eagle operating Sea Hornets rather than serving only as an auxiliary fighter carrier, and considers the aircraft as an escort for long-range raiders. Its exceptional radius could let a carrier launch from far outside the normal approach distance and recover its fighters afterward.