A counterfactual developed for a separate discussion of Operation C leaves two Japanese carriers isolated and damaged at night. Nagumo sends Kongo-class ships toward them, while Warspite, cruisers, and destroyers move to intercept that surface force. The British carriers are then imagined closing the still-floating Japanese ships and finishing them with 4.5-inch guns in an echo of the close-range action at Matapan. The scenario is explicitly speculative, but it shows how separation, night contact, and task-group support could turn carrier warfare into an unexpected surface engagement.
Notable Point · 3:03:07-3:04:36
An Operation C counterfactual ends with carrier gunfire
A speculative Indian Ocean scenario separates two Japanese carriers, draws their battlecruiser support away, and lets British carriers finish the damaged ships with 4.5-inch gunfire.