Keeping four aircraft available for one role requires more than the four currently flying and another four ready to replace them. Aircraft must return to rearm, pass checks after landing, and prepare their crews for another sortie. Eight aircraft might sustain the rotation under ideal conditions, but both groups could expend their weapons before either was ready to launch again. The illustrative requirement is eighteen aircraft: four groups of four and two spare airframes. Even that number can be insufficient to maintain cover 100 or 200 miles from the carrier because replacements need time to reach the station. A nearby carrier reduces the delay between a strike and the next armed aircraft arriving, provided its air group is large enough to sustain the cycle.
Notable Point · 1:56:29-1:58:50
Why a light carrier needs more aircraft than its patrol
An illustrative eighteen-aircraft group sustains four aircraft in one role by allowing for rearming and servicing, with greater numbers needed as the patrol moves farther away.