On the night of 11th/12th November 1940, the Fleet Air Arm launched one of the most audacious naval air strikes of the Second World War.

With Italy's powerful navy threatening British forces across the Mediterranean, 'Operation Judgement' was conceived as a bold solution, send ageing Fairey Swordfish biplanes against the Italian Fleet moored in Taranto Harbour.

Twenty Swordfish attacked in two waves, armed with torpedoes and bombs. 

Swordfish L4M, crewed by Lt(A) H. Swayne RN and Sub Lt(A) J. Buscall, formed part of the first wave's torpedo attack. Flying at extremely low level, they lined up on the Battleship Littorio and released their torpedo from just 400 yards, passing through the ship's masts during their daring pullout.

The torpedo struck home, causing serious damage to the Italian warship.The raid proved devastatingly effective, demonstrating that even the most powerful battleships were vulnerable to air attack.

This successful operation showed that the aircraft carrier and its aircraft would now dominate naval warfare. The tactical lessons learnt at Taranto were studied intensively by Japanese naval commanders, directly influencing their planning for the Pearl Harbor attack the following year.

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