Battle of Taranto

Battle of Taranto
	Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II
	; The Italian battleship Conte di Cavour with hull largely underwater after being torpedoed during the Taranto raid.
Date	11–12 November 1940
Location	Taranto40°27′4″N 17°12′27″E / 40.45111°N 17.20750°E
Result	British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Cunningham; Lumley Lyster;	Inigo Campioni
Strength
1 aircraft carrier; 2 heavy cruisers; 2 light cruisers; 4 destroyers; 21 torpedo bombers;	6 battleships; 7 heavy cruisers; 7 light cruisers; 13 destroyers;
Casualties and losses
2 killed; 2 captured; 2 aircraft destroyed;	59 killed; 600 wounded; 3 battleships disabled; 1 heavy cruiser damaged; 2 destroyers damaged; 2 fighters destroyed;
	Taranto Port of Taranto, in Apulia, Southern Italy and main Italian naval base

The Battle of Taranto 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 in history, employing 21 Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in the Mediterranean Sea.

The attack struck the battle fleet 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".