[CougarGA7]

Off the cuff, I would say the Illustrious would have just been sunk with the others. After all, the Illustrious at this time only had a complement of 33 aircraft with the bulk of them being Swordfish bi-planes. The fighter complement consisted of the 805dt squadron made up of about 12 Fairey Fulmar fighters (hardly a match for the Zero). The only thing that really would have protected the Illustrious from the same fate of the Repulse and the Prince of Wales would be its array of anti-aircraft guns which likely would have been insufficient.

[abb]

The Flag ship of Naval Fleet Force Z, battleship HMS Prince of Wales coming to moor in Singapore December 1941( IWM Collections)

Wearing her unusual black and white disruptive colour scheme, HMS Repulse is pictured as part of Force Z in company with HMS Prince of Wales and the destroyer Vampire. These two mighty battleships were to be lost within hours of each other, the victims of intense Japanese air strikes. Vampire and the destroyer Electra were on hand to pick up survivors from both ships.

[henkster]

But Force Z was not attacked by Zeros, nor was it likely to steam within range of them. Force Z was attacked by twin engine, slow, poorly protected Nells operating near the limit of their range. The Fairey Fulmars would probably have made quick work of them.

The likely outcome of surviving the attack of December 8 would have been that Force Z would have eventually left Singapore for Djarkarta, where it would have been available for the Battle of the Java Sea, an even more interesting “what if.”