Eagle reached the Mediterranean as the fleet's carrier strength was badly stretched. Three crated Sea Gladiators already held in local naval storage provided a scarce fighter reserve. Her aircraft attacked ports and shipping, sank or helped destroy Italian vessels including the destroyers Leone Pancaldo, Nembo, and Ostro, and provided convoy fighter cover. Sea Gladiators shot down Italian bombers while Swordfish operated both from the carrier and shore bases. Illustrious did not arrive until September, leaving Eagle's experienced ship and air crews to carry a disproportionate share of the early campaign.
Chapter · 1:01:27-1:04:47
Eagle carries the Mediterranean Fleet's early air war
With other British carriers diverted or lost, Eagle's Swordfish and Sea Gladiators supplied much of the Mediterranean Fleet's strike and fighter capability in mid-1940.