Taranto used one available carrier because the Royal Navy was already fighting a global war. In a peacetime concentration Britain might have assembled Ark Royal, Illustrious, Eagle, Courageous, or Glorious and launched well over a hundred aircraft. Italian defenders were also at wartime readiness, with balloons, nets, and weapons already deployed rather than economized for peace. The comparison separates Taranto's operational achievement from the very different force availability and warning conditions surrounding Pearl Harbor.
Notable Point · 1:15:36-1:17:11
Why Taranto could not marshal a Pearl Harbor-sized force
A wartime Royal Navy could use only the carriers available in theatre, unlike Japan's peacetime concentration before Pearl Harbor.