Carrier abundance does not solve the problem of target accessibility. German capital ships were often dispersed among Norwegian fjords or deeper Baltic anchorages instead of being concentrated in an exposed harbour like Taranto. Those locations offered difficult approaches and heavy air defences. Too few suitable targets at Wilhelmshaven would make a carrier strike difficult to justify.
Notable Point · 2:39:20-2:40:09
Why Wilhelmshaven was not a second Taranto
Even a much larger Allied carrier force would not make a Taranto-style strike on Germany's fleet an equally practical operation.