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Battle of Taranto
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Battle of Taranto
The Battle of Taranto, also known as the Raid on Taranto, and Operation Judgement took place on the night of 11/12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces (Admiral Andrew Cunningham) and Italian naval forces (Admiral Inigo Campioni). The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack, employing 21 Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo-bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in the Mediterranean Sea.
The attack struck the battlefleet of the Regia Marina at anchor in the harbour of Taranto, using aerial torpedoes, despite the shallowness of the water. The success of this attack augured the ascendancy of naval aviation over big-gun battleships. According to Cunningham, "Taranto, and the night of 11/12 November 1940, should be remembered forever as having shown once and for all that in the Fleet Air Arm the Navy has its most devastating weapon".
Since long before the First World War, the Italian Regia Marina's First Squadron had been based at Taranto, a port city on the Italian south-east coast. In the inter-war period, the Royal Navy made plans to counter the Regia Marina if there was a war in the Mediterranean. Plans for the capture of the port at Taranto were considered during Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935.
After Italy entered the Second World War in 1940, British and Italian forces in North Africa were engaged in the Western Desert Campaign. Italian troops based in Libya required supplies from Italy. British forces in Egypt suffered greater supply difficulties. Before Italy entered the war, British convoys could traverse the Mediterranean from Gibraltar via Malta to Egypt. The threat from the Regia Marina and the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian air force) made this very difficult and British ships were routed down Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, up the east coast of Africa and then through the Suez Canal to reach Alexandria.
Following the concept of a fleet in being, the Italians usually kept their warships in harbour and did not seek to engage the Royal Navy at sea; any ship they lost larger than a destroyer could not be replaced. The Italian fleet at Taranto was powerful, consisting of six battleships (though one was not yet battleworthy, Andrea Doria having her crew still in training after her reconstruction) seven heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eight destroyers. This made the threat of a sortie against British shipping a serious problem.
During the Munich Crisis of 1938, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was concerned about the survival of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious in the face of Italian opposition in the Mediterranean and ordered his staff to re-examine plans for attacking Taranto. He was advised by Lumley Lyster, the captain of Glorious, that his Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers were capable of a night attack, the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) being the only naval aviation arm capable of such a feat. Pound took Lyster's advice and ordered training to begin. Security was kept so tight there were no written records. Just a month before the war began, Pound advised his replacement, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, to consider the possibility, that came to be known as Operation Judgement.
The fall of France and the consequent loss of the French Mediterranean Fleet (even before the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir (Operation Catapult) made redress essential. The older carrier, HMS Eagle, on Cunningham's strength, was ideal, possessing an experienced air group consisting entirely of Swordfish aircraft. Three Gloster Sea Gladiator fighters were added for the operation. Plans were drawn up after the Italian invasion of Egypt by the 10th Army halted at Sidi Barrani, which freed the British Mediterranean Fleet.
Operation Judgement was part of Operation MB8, naval convoy movements that covered the arrival of Taranto attack force ready for the operation. The operation was originally scheduled to take place on 21 October 1940, Trafalgar Day. HMS Illustrious (815 NAS and 819 NAS) and HMS Eagle (813 NAS and 824 NAS) would be able to provide 30 Swordfish between them. lIlustrious also carried Fairey Fulmar fighters of 806 NAS aboard to provide air cover for the force, with her radar and fighter control systems.
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Battle of Taranto
The Battle of Taranto, also known as the Raid on Taranto, and Operation Judgement took place on the night of 11/12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces (Admiral Andrew Cunningham) and Italian naval forces (Admiral Inigo Campioni). The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack, employing 21 Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo-bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in the Mediterranean Sea.
The attack struck the battlefleet of the Regia Marina at anchor in the harbour of Taranto, using aerial torpedoes, despite the shallowness of the water. The success of this attack augured the ascendancy of naval aviation over big-gun battleships. According to Cunningham, "Taranto, and the night of 11/12 November 1940, should be remembered forever as having shown once and for all that in the Fleet Air Arm the Navy has its most devastating weapon".
Since long before the First World War, the Italian Regia Marina's First Squadron had been based at Taranto, a port city on the Italian south-east coast. In the inter-war period, the Royal Navy made plans to counter the Regia Marina if there was a war in the Mediterranean. Plans for the capture of the port at Taranto were considered during Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935.
After Italy entered the Second World War in 1940, British and Italian forces in North Africa were engaged in the Western Desert Campaign. Italian troops based in Libya required supplies from Italy. British forces in Egypt suffered greater supply difficulties. Before Italy entered the war, British convoys could traverse the Mediterranean from Gibraltar via Malta to Egypt. The threat from the Regia Marina and the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian air force) made this very difficult and British ships were routed down Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, up the east coast of Africa and then through the Suez Canal to reach Alexandria.
Following the concept of a fleet in being, the Italians usually kept their warships in harbour and did not seek to engage the Royal Navy at sea; any ship they lost larger than a destroyer could not be replaced. The Italian fleet at Taranto was powerful, consisting of six battleships (though one was not yet battleworthy, Andrea Doria having her crew still in training after her reconstruction) seven heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eight destroyers. This made the threat of a sortie against British shipping a serious problem.
During the Munich Crisis of 1938, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was concerned about the survival of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious in the face of Italian opposition in the Mediterranean and ordered his staff to re-examine plans for attacking Taranto. He was advised by Lumley Lyster, the captain of Glorious, that his Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers were capable of a night attack, the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) being the only naval aviation arm capable of such a feat. Pound took Lyster's advice and ordered training to begin. Security was kept so tight there were no written records. Just a month before the war began, Pound advised his replacement, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, to consider the possibility, that came to be known as Operation Judgement.
The fall of France and the consequent loss of the French Mediterranean Fleet (even before the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir (Operation Catapult) made redress essential. The older carrier, HMS Eagle, on Cunningham's strength, was ideal, possessing an experienced air group consisting entirely of Swordfish aircraft. Three Gloster Sea Gladiator fighters were added for the operation. Plans were drawn up after the Italian invasion of Egypt by the 10th Army halted at Sidi Barrani, which freed the British Mediterranean Fleet.
Operation Judgement was part of Operation MB8, naval convoy movements that covered the arrival of Taranto attack force ready for the operation. The operation was originally scheduled to take place on 21 October 1940, Trafalgar Day. HMS Illustrious (815 NAS and 819 NAS) and HMS Eagle (813 NAS and 824 NAS) would be able to provide 30 Swordfish between them. lIlustrious also carried Fairey Fulmar fighters of 806 NAS aboard to provide air cover for the force, with her radar and fighter control systems.
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