Bombers might attack fuel installations, cruisers in Mar Piccolo, or battleships that were difficult to reach by torpedo, although their results are less predictable. In the severe projection, Giulio Cesare remains the only viable battleship while repair facilities concentrate on Littorio and Vittorio Veneto. Those newer ships would probably return, but the older dreadnoughts could become constructive total losses after prolonged submergence and water damage. Dockyard space, salvage capacity, and time would all be scarce at once. A fleet reduced to one older battleship and fewer heavy cruisers would have little incentive to contest a British force containing Renown and Ark Royal. At Cape Spartivento, Ark Royal alone carried twelve Fulmars, twelve Skuas, and thirty Swordfish. The battle might therefore never occur in recognizable form.
Chapter · 1:18:32-1:23:40
The Italian battlefleet after a larger Taranto
With most battleships and several heavy cruisers disabled, Italy might avoid Cape Spartivento and lose its major surface threat for about a year.