Each planned twenty-one-aircraft wave allocated twelve Swordfish to torpedoes, six to bombs, and three to flares, almost doubling the historical attacking force. Eagle's accumulated mechanical problems removed her shortly before the operation after improvised repairs could no longer keep her available. Her best serviceable Swordfish were transferred to Illustrious, reducing the plan from two flight decks to one. The setback also illustrates why British doctrine preferred paired carriers: two flight decks provided redundancy for launching, recovery, fighter cover, and damage repair during operations far from major dockyards.
Chapter · 24:34-26:44
The original two-carrier Taranto strike
Before Eagle became unavailable, the plan called for two waves totaling forty-two Swordfish from two flight decks rather than the historical twenty-one aircraft.