Synopsis:
On November 11, 1940, 21 slow, canvas-covered British warplanes, launched from the carrier Illustrious, attacked the harbor at the Italian port of Taranto and put most of the Italian navy out of commission. This all-but-forgotten operation, the authors argue, deserves historical recognition as an inspirational precedent for the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor 13 months later. Taranto demonstrated that battleships in a shallow, heavily defended harbor could be sunk by a handful of torpedo-bombers. That lesson Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Japanese fleet, learned well-while the American military virtually ignored it.
“By this single stroke the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean was decisively altered.” –Winston S. Churchill
From the Author:
A great joy in my life was meeting and working with the late John Wellham, a true hero of the Second World War. In his canvas-covered Fairey Swordfish biplane he help sink two Italian submarines and several battleships. His collaboration gave the the book a true "You are there" flavor, because he really was there! To attempt a British description, John was "a splendid chap," and I am honored to have known him.
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