The scenario removes the political crisis that led to Mers-el-Kébir, so Force H would not need to exist in its historical form. French support could leave a third British carrier available for Taranto. That extra capacity would allow Eagle to leave operations for repairs after earlier damage, potentially making all three carriers ready for the raid. Taranto was conceived and developed as a multi-carrier operation, and the additional carrier would restore that intended scale. The projected strike contains 84 Swordfish and 24 Skuas, compared with the 21 of 24 Swordfish that made the historical attack. A larger attack could damage more of the Italian battle fleet, although the outcome remains conditional on aircraft availability and the strike's success.
Notable Point · 40:51-43:05
No Mers-el-Kébir and a larger Taranto strike
A cooperative French fleet removes the premise for Mers-el-Kébir and may allow a three-carrier Taranto operation against the Italian battle fleet.