Illustrious carried 47 aircraft during the Madagascar operations, but sustaining that group required room to work on them. Five Martlets and one Swordfish remained in the deck park to free space below. Packing every aircraft into the hangar could leave no room to unfold wings or carry out necessary maintenance. The workable air group therefore depended on the maintenance that crews needed to perform as well as the number of aircraft that physically fitted.
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Deck parking leaves room to maintain aircraft
Keeping five Martlets and one Swordfish on deck freed the hangar space needed to unfold wings and maintain the air group.