Indomitable alone could not defeat the Japanese carrier force assembled for Operation C; one isolated carrier would be overwhelmed. The historical Eastern Fleet's carriers might have forced a withdrawal if a night strike found and badly damaged the Japanese formation. The risk runs both ways, because surviving Japanese carriers and veteran air groups could answer in daylight and probably overwhelm a weakened British force. In the counterfactual, Indomitable, Formidable, and at least one American carrier make a roughly three-carrier Allied group plausible. That force still needs reconnaissance, surprise, and luck, but its ability to strike at range means numerical inferiority is not the same as strategic helplessness.
Notable Point · 1:20:18-1:22:39
A smaller Allied carrier force could still hurt Operation C
Even without numerical parity, a two- or three-carrier Allied force might damage the Japanese carriers at night, though a surviving Japanese air group would remain dangerous in daylight.