Cika wannan jumla:
cin nasara na Birtaniya Malaya da Dutch East Indies a farkon 1942 ya buɗe ƙofar don ci gaban Japan a cikin Tekun Indiya. Tsibirin Madagascar da Vichy Faransa ke sarrafawa ya tsaya a kan layin sadarwa tsakanin Indiya da Burtaniya kuma Birtaniyyawan sun damu da cewa Faransawa za su yarda da mamayar tsibirin kamar yadda suka yi wa mamayar Jafananci na Indochina ta Faransa a 1940. Don hana wannan ya buƙaci mamayewa na farko na Diego Suarez da aka tsara don Mayu 1942. "Illustrious" yana da aikinsa ya ƙare a ranar 19 ga Maris don shirya don shiga cikin Gabas ta Gabas a cikin Tekun Indiya kuma ya shiga cikin harin. Ta yi tafiya bayan kwana hudu, bayan da ta shiga Swordfish ashirin da daya, tara Martlet IIs na 881 Squadron da shida Martlet Is na 882 Squadron, da kuma mayakan Fulmar guda biyu kafin su raka rundunar sojojin da ke dauke da wasu daga cikin mutanen da aka ba su don kai hari. Wata wuta ta tashi a ranar 2 ga Afrilu wanda ya hallaka jiragen sama 11 kuma ya kashe ma'aikacin jirgin, amma ya kasa haifar da mummunar lalacewar jirgin. An yi gyare-gyare a Freetown, Sierra Leone, inda aka maye gurbin jirage da aka rushe da kuma karawa da wasu jiragen sama guda goma sha biyu na Martlet II daga HMS "Archer", yayin da jiragen sama guda biyu na Martlet I suka koma "Archer", wanda ya kawo yawan jirgin sama na "Illustrious" zuwa 47. Bayan zamanta a Freetown, "Illustrious" ya ci gaba zuwa Durban; yayin tafiyar ma'aikatanta sun kuma sanya radar ASV zuwa Swordfish mai maye gurbin. Martlet daya da aka sanya ni tare da folding fuka-fuki.