Flares, torpedoes, and shallow bombing work together

Each wave divided its Swordfish between complementary tasks. Flare aircraft illuminated targets and attacked fuel facilities, while torpedo bombers struck the fleet and shallow bombers avoided balloon cables and other obstacles. The flares were positioned to backlight the ships without exposing the low attackers in the same way. Their glare also disrupted defenders' night vision and drew high-angle weapons upward while the torpedo aircraft approached close to the water.