In a counterfactual where Courageous and Glorious survive, Glorious joins Eagle and Illustrious in the Mediterranean. Their combined air groups might offer roughly seventy-two Swordfish as well as Skuas and Fulmars for a two-wave strike. The larger pool would let torpedo aircraft concentrate on capital ships while Skuas attacked cruisers and destroyers and Fulmars carried flares or preserved fighter cover. Even after allowing for aircraft turning back and torpedo failures, far more weapons could reach the harbour than in the historical raid. These are scenario estimates rather than a claim that an exact outcome was inevitable. Additional carrier hulls multiply stores, aircraft availability, and mission specialization as well as flight decks.
Notable Point · 1:05:05-1:12:26
A three-carrier Taranto strike changes mission allocation
With three carriers available, a much larger Taranto air group could divide torpedo attack, dive bombing, illumination, and fighter protection among specialized aircraft.