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I disagree that the outcome would have significantly changed had a carrier been sent with Force Z. Given the small number of fighters embarked, and their vintage, the carrier may well have been sunk too. The best the FAA could muster at this time was a squadron (9 aircraft) of Sea Hurricanes and a squadron of Fulmars (9 aircraft) on Indomitable. The Sea Hurricanes would doubtless have given a good account of themselves, as they did during the Pedestal convoy, but with only one carrier, any damage that limited flying operations would have likely lead to the loss of the ship. Ark Royal was equipped only with Fulmars as fighters - two squadrons of 9 aircraft each - an aircraft described by one Indomitable pilot as "7 tons of uselessness". There was no Martlet (Wildcat) squadron embarked on an RN carrier until Illustrious and Formidable returned to service in 1942, and only Indomitable could operate Sea Hurricanes.