Second World War naval air defense is used to explain how disrupting an attack can improve a ship's chances even when every aircraft is not destroyed. Fighters could break up an incoming formation before it reached the fleet. Barrage fire and closer defenses could then scatter and harass it further. Massed aircraft attacking one ship held an advantage that isolated aircraft did not. Reducing the attack toward individual aircraft facing individual ships could shift the balance, especially where the gunnery crews were well trained. The comparison supports a forecast that future defenses will also need to reduce the effectiveness of attacks that they cannot eliminate completely.
Notable Point · 31:42-32:48
How wartime naval air defense broke up mass attacks
Fighters and successive layers of gunfire could scatter a concentrated air attack, improving the odds for ships with trained gunnery crews.