HMS Illustrious would have had this appearance at the time of the Battle of Taranto when her Swordfish aircraft sank three Italian battleships at their moorings in the Mare Grande of Taranto navy base.All were salvaged and two were back in service by the time Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943.
HMS Illustrious was re-fitted following battle damage later in WW2 and the flight deck was extended at the bow and the stern. The island superstructure was also lengthened, so this model corresponds to Illustrious in 1940 & 1941,