How large would the Taranto raid need to be to include air-dropped mines at the harbor entrances?
Short answerA larger carrier force could allocate aircraft to mining, but every mine sortie trades against direct attacks on ships and facilities.
NotesA larger three-wave or four-carrier raid could plausibly assign some Swordfish to mines instead of bombs. The flare geometry favored low torpedo approaches but could hinder aircraft trying to line up bombing runs against the illuminated harbor. Bombing also distracted antiaircraft crews from the darker torpedo bombers, so every change in load altered more than the direct damage delivered. Even a limited minefield would force the Italians to sweep the harbor and delay the movement of damaged ships after the surprise attack. Mines detonating during recovery could destroy cranes or other salvage assets, while uncertainty about how many had been dropped would magnify the disruption.