Comments by "John Burns" (@johnburns4017) on "Italian Forces and Industry in Early World War 2" video.

British code intercepts told them of the Italian ships moving at Cape Matapan. After the mauling, the Italians saw they needed more air cover, the British used an aircraft carrier, and started to convert a liner into an aircraft carrier completed it just as they changed sides. The British sunk it as it got into German hands. In reality, the Italians needed better coastal CAP and longer range planes, not a carrier which can be sunk, and probably would have been if it put to sea - as would have the German incomplete carrier. At least the Italian carrier would have had some meaningful role while the German carrier never. The hit and run German fleet could only sail close to land, for fear of being sunk.
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