A Wilhelmshaven raid proves the carrier-strike idea

The counterfactual's institutional break begins with a more consequential version of proposals by Murray Sueter and David Beatty to attack Wilhelmshaven with Sopwith Cuckoos. Early aerial torpedoes lack the later guidance aids needed for shallow water, so many would bury themselves or fail. Even one capital-ship sinking would still demonstrate that naval aircraft can attack an enemy fleet in harbor. That result gives Beatty a reason to treat aviation as a decisive weapon and strengthens the Navy's claim to control it.