Why a second Taranto strike was not flown

Why was there no immediate follow-up attack while the damaged Italian ships were being salvaged?

A second strike was considered, but weather, renewed defences, and the loss of surprise made it far less attractive; Naples offered a different but risky option.

The Royal Navy considered attacking again the following night, but the weather forecast was poor and crews had just completed an exceptionally hazardous mission. The Italians had removed some nets and failed to replace storm-lost balloons before the first attack, while a repeat would face a more alert and fortified harbour. British avoidance of the area before 11 November had helped create that temporary complacency, which could not be reproduced. A later suggestion proposed that some Swordfish might have laid mines during the original raid to obstruct salvage, an option absent from the executed plan. Planners also considered sending Ark Royal past Sardinia and then doubling back against the ships moved to Naples. Submarine danger to a carrier the Italians already regarded as a prime target made that alternative too risky.