e.g. The libyan raids were done by ground based bombers flying from England with air to air refueling.
Not quite right. The decision to hit two widely dispersed target areas (3 targets in Tripoli area and two targets near Benghazi) simultaniously drove the decision to split the targets between USAF F-111/EF-111 towards Tripoli and the Benghazi targets to the Navy. Navy A-7 amd F/A-18 provided HARM and Shrike coverage, E-2's provided the threat warning, F-14/18 provided the CAP in the Air Force strike area. There were two aircraft carriers in the area and the strikes could have been done Navy only, but that would have meant that barely covering the targets because only the A-6E was capable of the night LGB delivery required in the tasking.
See James A. Winnefeld and Dana J Johnson's book "Joint Air Operations: Pursuit of Unity in Command and Control 1942-1991" chapter 7 for a good discussion of El Dorado Canyon.