In November of 1940 the Italian Fleet was poised at Taranto, in Southern Italy, in an attempt to threaten the British naval lifeline to Africa. The Italians were practicing “Fleet in Being”; A military strategy that runs on the premise that the mere presence of a military of significant size will deter the enemy, without having to ever engage in battle. Therefore, the Italians stayed in port at Taranto, rather than risk their fleet in battle with the British. The British, however, did not choose to avoid battle in fear. Rather they planned Operation Judgment; a surprise attack on Taranto. Winston Churchill was determined to reduce the Italian Fleet before the Germans could arrive and reinforce them.
The Battle of Taranto took place on November 11 and 12, 1940. A British task force launched Operation Judgment from the British carrier the HMS Illustrious. The plan called for British planes to attack the Italian Fleet in two waves. Twenty-one Swordfish torpedo bombers were poised on the Illustrious to take off on the night of November 11. Eleven of the planes were armed with torpedoes, the remainder carried flares and bombs. The first wave of fighters arrived at Taranto Harbor at approximately 10:58 pm. The second wave arrived at approximately midnight. The Italians were surprised and the British succeeded in halving the Italian Fleet. The Italian Battleship Conte Di Cavour was sunk and two other battleships were damaged. The British lost only two Swordfish to anti-aircraft fire. The Italians withdrew the remainder of their sea worthy vessels to harbors on Italy’s west coast.
The success of the British in the Battle of Taranto changed the way military experts viewed aircraft carrier attacks. It had been military practice to attempt torpedo attacks against ships only at water depths of 100 ft or over. The port at Taranto had a shallow depth of 40ft. The British compensated for the shallow water by designing special torpedoes and dropping them from a very low altitude. This method was studied by the Japanese and subsequently used in the attack on Pearle Harbor.