The book passage places Renown's convoy work alongside Force H's attempt to fly Hurricanes from Argus to Malta. Argus carried twelve fighters in two flights, each guided by a Skua, while her speed limited the fleet to about twenty knots. Strong headwinds defeated a range calculation that left too little reserve. Two aircraft from the first flight ditched short of Malta, and none from the second arrived. The loss shows why carrier reinforcement plans must allow for weather, navigation, fuel margin, and pilots inexperienced in long overwater flights.
Notable Point · 2:19:26
Operation White and the cost of inadequate range margin
A carrier reinforcement flight to Malta failed when headwinds consumed a plan with too little margin for weather and pilot experience.