How Britain might hold the Pacific after a catastrophic Pearl Harbor

What if Enterprise were sunk at Pearl Harbor and Britain had to take over the Pacific naval war?

Enterprise's loss alone would not force that transfer. If American carrier losses were severe enough, Britain would need American help elsewhere to concentrate a fleet and hold until US reinforcements arrived.

The loss of Enterprise alone would leave the US Navy short of a Yorktown-class carrier and force greater caution, without transferring the Pacific war to Britain. The counterfactual therefore expands to a much larger destruction of American carrier strength. Britain's existing Eastern Fleet would need reinforcements released from other commitments, with American standard battleships and Ranger taking over Arctic and Atlantic convoy duties. The proposed British force combines a fast wing of King George V-class battleships, Renown and Repulse with Warspite and the R class, supported by available British carriers and Saratoga. American cruisers and destroyers would continue nuisance raids to divide Japanese attention. Sustaining this force would make Singapore indispensable and create pressure for rapid, substantial reinforcement of Malaya.