The expanded carrier allowance gives Britain enough large armored flight decks to mass two or perhaps three Ark Royal-type ships for a Taranto operation. This design family carries roughly 72 aircraft per carrier. Retaining about 18 fighters on each deck could still leave around 54 aircraft per carrier available for the operation. Three carriers would therefore support roughly 162 aircraft, potentially organized as several large waves. Peacetime carrier construction changes operational scale even before tactics or aircraft improve.
Notable Point · 2:42:11-2:43:10
Multiple armored Ark Royals transform a Taranto strike
Two or three larger armored British carriers could bring a radically heavier air group to Taranto than the historical force.