A proposed rescue assumes that a surface ship can recover people from the water and leave before hostile bombers return. That timetable may work in theory but rarely survives contact with an actual evacuation. Recovering personnel commonly takes longer than planners expect. The commander can then face a grim choice between abandoning survivors and remaining in the danger area for the follow-on attack.
Notable Point · 2:11:35-2:11:55
Survivor recovery rarely keeps a bomber's timetable
A surface ship may expect to recover survivors before aircraft return, but the human pace of evacuation can force a choice between leaving people and accepting another attack.