Even an imperfect raid could displace the High Seas Fleet

While the High Seas Fleet remained west of the Kiel Canal, it constrained Allied amphibious operations and tied down escorts and the Grand Fleet. Its continued presence also preserved morale and political bargaining value even if the ships rarely sortied. The 1918 mutiny over an order that crews viewed as near-certain death shows how vulnerable that morale could become; an air attack they could scarcely oppose might have accelerated its erosion. Early aerial torpedoes would often fail in shallow water, so the Cuckoo was far from a guaranteed fleet-destroying weapon. Even a few hits, or merely proof that repeated attacks were possible, could compel Germany to sortie, disperse, or retreat beyond effective reach.